군 사망보상체계의 법제 불일치와 개선방안 – 군인사법·군인재해보상법·국가유공자법 비교를 중심으로

This study examines the legislative inconsistencies and equity issues arising from the fragmented compensation system for soldiers who die during military service, which is currently divided among the Military Personnel Act, the Military Accident Compensation Act, and the Act on the Honorable Treatment and Support of Persons of Distinguished Service to the State. The existing framework presents structural problems in which identical death cases are classified differently—such as “line-of-duty death” or “accidental death”—leading to disparities in compensation amounts, the scope of bereaved family members, and the level of honors granted. Grounded in the constitutional duty of the state to protect life and the principle of state liability for risk, this study compares the scope of application, terminology systems, and review procedures of the three laws. The analysis identifies four major problems: (1) the lack of practical benefit in the graded classification of line-of-duty deaths, (2) the narrow and outdated definition of bereaved family members, (3) the irrational treatment of ordinary deaths among conscripts, and (4) the disconnection between military casualty review and veterans’ compensation procedures. Accordingly, this study proposes several integrated reforms: the unification of the “line-of-duty death” category and standardization of veterans’ criteria; expansion of the bereaved family definition by replacing the “dependency” standard with “cohabitation” and conditionally including siblings; establishment of a presumption of causal relationship for self-inflicted deaths of conscripts; and creation of a one-stop linkage system between casualty and veterans’ review processes. These proposals are expected to ensure fair and consistent recognition of sacrifice, restore public trust, and improve policy efficiency by reducing administrative and litigation costs through systemic unification.