A court has ruled that the family of a public servant who took an extreme step after depression worsened due to overwork and stress must be paid a line-of-duty survivors' benefit.
The Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 3 (Presiding Judge Choi Su-jin) said on the 5th it ruled to "cancel the disapproval decision" in a suit filed by B, the spouse of A, an education public servant who died in October last year, seeking to overturn the Ministry of Personnel Management's disapproval of a line-of-duty survivors' benefit.
A was appointed a local education administration public servant in 2006 and served at an education support office, a cultural center and a library before being assigned as a school administrative office director in Jan. 2022. A was diagnosed with depression in March that year and went on medical leave, then returned to work after being reassigned to a library in July. However, A was found dead on a stairway in the basement of the library in August, a month after returning.
B, a family member, filed for a line-of-duty survivors' benefit in September that year, saying, "A died after depression worsened due to an excessive workload and stress."
While working as a school administrative office director in Jan. 2022, A performed 44 hours of overtime work in a month, and did 22 hours of overtime in February as well. During a hospital visit in March, A was quoted as saying, "I went to work even on Sunday, and I stayed at the government housing the day before," and "It was my first time doing administrative office director duties, so it felt unfamiliar, and I tried, but it didn't go well."
However, the Ministry of Personnel Management did not approve the payment in March last year, saying, "Considering the work content and working conditions, it is difficult to see that there was a level of work overload that would lead to death."
The court noted that A had previously shown symptoms of depression and had a history of psychiatric treatment, saying A "appears to have had a vulnerability to stress," but found that "after not receiving any particular psychiatric treatment for the past five years, A's depressive symptoms rapidly worsened after being assigned as administrative office director."
The court continued, "If work-related burdens and the resulting stress acted in combination with other factors to cause a recurrence or worsening of depression, a substantial causal relationship between the death and public service is recognized," siding with the family.