Only 6 of 22 Survivors of the Cheonan Sinking Who Applied Received Meritorious Person Status

2019-3-26, DongA (translated from Korean)

“The moment from nine years ago seems like just yesterday.”

Mr. A (32), who served as a boatswain’s mate seaman at the time of the Cheonan sinking by an explosion [from a North Korean torpedo attack], cannot forget the moment at 9:22 p.m. on March 26, 2010. Mr. A, who was lying in bed at the time, was thrust into the air with a deafening noise of “bang.”  When A regained his consciousness, the Cheonan was upside down. A managed to escape by grabbing stairs and pipes. The incident took 46 lives of fellow sailors on that day. However, Mr. A suffered from insomnia, depression, and tinnitus right after the incident.

Mr. A received a diagnosis of “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)” in December 2010 and applied for a National Meritorious Person (Yugongja) status at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans, but was rejected.  In order to be designated as a national meritorious person via PTSD, there must be a record that the daily life is impossible by himself or there are restrictions to work or the symptoms must be severe, and the patient has been receiving long-term continuous treatment of mental health, but the requirements were not met.

Mr. Kim (30), who was Petty Officer First Class at the time of the incident, is in a similar situation.   He was diagnosed with PTSD and depressive disorder in August 2017 and applied for the National Yugongja status, but he is still waiting for the results one year and seven months later.  Kim said, “when I applied for the National Meritorious Person status, I was told that it would be concluded in six months by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs, but it has been a year and a half since.”

Although it has been nine years since the Cheonan’s sinking by an attack on March 26th, many of the sailors living with serious psychological after effects, such as PTSD, have not been recognized as national Meritorious Persons.  According to data submitted by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to the Liberty Korea Party National Assemblywoman Shin Bora, only six of the 22 survivors of the Cheonan incident who applied for National Meritorious Person recognition were recognized as such. Thirteen were not recognized for reasons such as being below rating standards, and three of them were in the process of decision stage.  [truncated]

Source:  http://news.donga.com/3/all/20190326/94730075/1