A court has ruled that disciplinary action resulting in a salary cut against a civilian military employee who refused a superior's instruction to identify and report meeting attendees on the grounds that it was time to leave work was unfair.

The court based its decision on the reasoning that the instruction was unrelated to military duties.

The 12th Administrative Division of the Seoul Administrative Court, presided over by Judge Kang Jae-won, recently ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a civilian employee, identified as A, against their military unit to cancel the disciplinary action.

Employee A had initially faced a demotion after receiving an order from a superior to "investigate and report on the purpose of an upcoming meeting and the other units attending," but refused, stating, "It is quitting time, so I am leaving. I will hand over the task to someone else."

The military unit concluded that employee A had violated the duty to obey official commands from a superior under the Military Service Act.

Although the Ministry of National Defense Civilian Employee Appeal Review Committee subsequently lowered the disciplinary level from demotion to a salary cut, employee A filed an administrative lawsuit to challenge the decision.

The court ruled in favor of employee A.

It reasoned that official commands from superiors stipulated under the Military Service Act must entail imposing military obligations, and that the instruction given to employee A was unrelated to such military duties.

Previously, employee A also faced a criminal trial on charges of insubordination, but that court similarly acquitted employee A, judging that "the order in this case pertained to administrative tasks unrelated to imposing military obligations."

(Photo: Yonhap News)