Court Recognizes Immigration Officer Who Fell to Death While Searching for Illegal Residents as Official Killed in Line of Duty

Who this helps

This may help people wondering whether a public official who died in an accident during immigration work counts as killed in the line of duty. It concerns a death during a search for illegal residents.

Case overview

Case number

2015구합8060

Court

Seoul Administrative Court

Date of judgment

Dec 18, 2015 (Fri)

Topic

Industrial Accidents

Original title (Korean)

출입국관리사무소 이민조사관으로 근무하던 망인이 불법체류자 수색업무 수행 중…

A person working as an immigration investigator at an immigration office fell and died while carrying out a search for illegal residents. The dispute was whether this person qualifies as a public official killed in the line of duty.

Is a fall death during a search for illegal residents recognized as a line-of-duty death?

An immigration investigator at an immigration office fell to death while searching for illegal residents. The dispute was whether this person counted as an official killed in the line of duty. The court viewed even a structure that could easily collapse as a serious danger to life and body for someone searching and enforcing. It found that if the structure collapsed and the person fell with it, harm suffered while doing the job was the direct cause of death.

How the court ruled

The court recognized the person as a public official killed in the line of duty. It found that even a structure that is prone to collapse can pose a serious danger to the life and body of a person carrying out search and enforcement duties. It held that if the structure collapsed and the person fell with it and died, the death can be regarded as directly caused by harm suffered while performing official duties.

What to check in a similar situation

Whether a death is recognized as a line-of-duty death, and the related procedure, can be checked with the immigration and foreigner office the official belonged to, or with the court.

• Unpaid wages and work injuries
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Terms explained

official killed in the line of duty

A public official who died because of harm suffered while doing the job. This was the point in dispute in this case.

immigration investigator

A public official at an immigration office who handles work such as investigation and enforcement.

search duty

Work of locating illegal residents. In this case, the targets of the search were illegal residents.

More rulings on this topic

• Court upholds recovery of half of benefits for accident before insurance establishment report · Ulsan District Court
• Ruling revoking denial of medical care benefits for a foreign worker injured while fleeing a crackdown · Busan High Court

See all 3 rulings on Industrial Accidents →

Frequently asked questions

What was disputed in this case?

An immigration investigator fell to death during a search for illegal residents. The dispute was whether this person was an official killed in the line of duty.

How did the court rule?

The court recognized the person as killed in the line of duty. It saw a structure that could easily collapse as a serious danger, and found harm from the job to be the direct cause of death.

Does this result apply as is to all similar cases?

No. This is the court's judgment in that case and does not apply as is to other cases.