Military to fully fund soldier injured in mine explosion

President Park Geun-hye visits Staff Sergeant Ha Jae-hun, who was injured at the landmine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone on Aug. 4, at the Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi province, Sunday. Park praised bravery he showed during the explosion, blamed on North Korea, at which the 21-year-old lost both of his legs from below the knee. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

The Ministry of National Defense said Sunday that it will pay all the medical expenses of a soldier who has been under care in a private hospital after he was injured in the Aug. 4 landmine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The government has defined the detonation as an act of provocation by North Korea.

“We are taking measures so that Staff Sergeant Ha Jae-hun does not need to cover additional medical costs at his own expense,” said a ministry official, who asked not to be named.

Under the Veterans’ Pension Act, a soldier injured in the line of duty and who is under care in a private hospital can only be funded by the government for 30 days.

If this law is applied as it is, Ha needs to pay his own medical expenses from Sept. 3. This has raised controversy over the government’s bungled compensation for a soldier scarified while in service to the nation.

During the mine blast, Ha lost both of his legs from below the knee.

Mindful of such controversy, the ministry said it figured out a way to provide full financial support for the 21-year-old even after Sept. 3 within legal boundaries, considering that he was injured in several other parts of his body, including the anus.

The ministry explained that the maximum support period of 30 days, stipulated in the law, is applied when a soldier is treated to cure a singular illness or injury.

“Ha needs complex therapy apart from one for leg injuries. So, we will support his medical expenses that incur even after Sept. 3,” the official said.

The other wounded soldier, Staff Sergeant Kim Jung-won, 23, has been under care at an army hospital funded by the government. Kim had his right foot amputated from the ankle while trying to help Ha get out of the site. But Ha was transferred to Seoul National University Hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi province, because his injuries are more serious.

The ministry added that it is also planning to revise an administrative rule, which stipulates that the government provides support for a maximum of 10.5 million won ($9,000) for prosthetic legs for an injured soldier. It said the revised rule would allow the government to provide more support, so that Ha can have better prosthetic legs.

In a separate effort, the National Assembly is also moving to revise the law so that an injured soldier can be funded for a maximum of two years for treatment in a private hospital.

Meanwhile, President Park Geun-hye visited the two soldiers also on Sunday and praised them for their bravery shown during and after the explosion.

On the morning of Aug. 4, three North Korean-made wooden box antipersonnel landmines exploded in the South-controlled area of the DMZ while eight South Korean soldiers were conducting a regular patrol.

South Korea claims it extracted an apology from North Korea through the Aug. 25 inter-Korean accord which contained the word “regret” from the North Korean side for the blast.

But North Korea has continued to deny involvement in the mine explosion, claiming that “regret” did not mean an apology for the explosion.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye