I've been flying a combat helicopter for 21 years and hearing loss...Court "Applicable to national merit"

serve as a helicopter pilot for 21 years A court ruled that a veteran diagnosed with hearing loss is a national merit.

The Seoul Administrative Court recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit to cancel the party's decision compared to the requirements for national merit filed by a retired soldier A against the head of the Seoul Northern Veterans Affairs Office.

The court said that A should be considered to have hearing loss due to the noise generated during helicopter control, and judged that helicopter control is a requirement for national merit because it is a mission to protect the country.

A, who retired from the retirement age in 2021 after serving as a helicopter pilot in the Army for 21 years, was diagnosed with "two-sided sensory nerve hearing loss" at a hospital in 2010 while serving in the military.

Mr. A was registered as a military police officer injured in a disaster in January last year, but he applied for the registration of a national merit to be changed to a 'military police officer in air', saying that he was injured while performing his duty.

However, the Veterans Affairs Review Committee decided that A's hearing loss was not caused by the performance of his/her duties directly related to the protection of the state, and that he/she was not a national merit.