3-line summary
- If you have objections to the military service assessment (military disposition), you can challenge it through an administrative appeal. The claim period is 90 days from the date you become aware of the disposition and 180 days from the date of the disposition.
- The enlistment date may come before the claim period. If you receive an enlistment notice, you should also consider filing an application for suspension of execution (stay) along with the administrative appeal.
- The assessment looks at the degree of condition, not the diagnosis. You need to have documents showing your condition at the time of the assessment, such as surgical records, image interpretation reports, and treatment history.
Table of Contents
- The different name written on the first line of the surgical record
- The reason why documents could not be submitted at the time of the assessment
- The date that comes first: enlistment date and claim period
- What’s the difference between a re-physical examination and a change in military disposition
- Documents linking medical records with the previous name
- What is and isn’t written on the claim form
- Supplementary statement after receiving the response
- Re-determination and re-received assessment
- Contents of work and checklist for administrative agents (administrative scriveners)
The different name was written in the patient name field on the top line of the surgical record.
I am an administrative agent (administrative scrivener) working in Songdo, Incheon. When I receive inquiries about military service assessment objections, I often see a single document change the direction of a case. This case also began with that single name field.
1. The different name written on the first line of the surgical record
I first received an email. The sender was the sister of a 23-year-old young man. She stated that her brother received a military service assessment and that an enlistment notice arrived a few days ago. There were three attached files: military service assessment result notification, enlistment notice, and a photograph of a surgical record from a university hospital in Seoul.
He had experienced frequent shoulder dislocations since high school. Once while playing sports, once while grabbing a bus handrail. He eventually had surgery in the winter when he was nineteen, and subsequently continued rehabilitation for nearly a year.
He was taking a leave of absence from university and working night shifts at a logistics center. It was to help pay off the loan interest on his mother’s small snack bar. He wasn’t trying to avoid enlistment altogether. He wanted to confirm whether his shoulder condition allowed for active duty service and whether the assessment was done properly. That was the entirety of the request.
And the name field on the surgical record was not his current name, but the name he changed before turning twenty.
2. The reason why documents could not be submitted at the time of the assessment
The siblings came to the office together for a weekend appointment. The first question they asked was what documents he had submitted for the military service assessment.
He had submitted only one opinion letter from a local orthopedic clinic. It contained the short sentence, “Condition after right shoulder dislocation surgery.” He did not submit the surgical record and MRI interpretation report from the university hospital where he had surgery.
There was a reason for this. He applied for online issuance from the hospital, but he repeatedly failed at the identity verification stage. The hospital’s computer system still contained his previous name and old resident registration information, and it could not be retrieved with his current name. He needed to go directly to the window, but he didn’t have time to go to Seoul during the day due to his night shift schedule. The examination date was approaching, and he thought, “The assessment officer will figure it out,” and went with just the opinion letter.
This kind of situation is not uncommon. In a military service assessment, the assessment officer looks at the materials submitted on that day and the condition examined on that day. They do not search for missing records. A single opinion letter does not reveal the scope of surgery, the frequency of recurrence, or the limitations remaining after surgery.
The assessment was made according to the manual. The problem was that the data that served as the basis for the assessment was missing.
3. Enlistment Date and Claim Period, Whichever Comes First
Next, I opened the calendar. I needed to confirm two dates.
- Administrative Appeal Claim Period: Article 27 of the Administrative Appeal Act stipulates that a claim must be filed within 90 days from the date you become aware of the disposition, or within 180 days from the date the disposition was made. He was 35 days after receiving the assessment results, so 55 days remained in the claim period.
- Enlistment Date: The date written on the enlistment notice was 49 days later.
The enlistment date came before the claim period. A common misunderstanding often arises here. People think that filing an administrative appeal will automatically stop enlistment. That is not the case. Filing a claim alone does not suspend the effect of the disposition.
Therefore, we decided to file a suspension of execution application along with the administrative appeal claim. Article 30 of the Administrative Appeal Act allows for an application for suspension of execution if there is an urgent need to prevent substantial damage that may arise from the execution of the disposition. If the assessment changes after enlistment, it will be difficult to reverse the already started military service. This was the basis for the urgency.
We also looked into postponement of enlistment. When we inquired with the Military Manpower Administration in writing, we received a reply stating that postponement is only possible for designated reasons, and that filing an administrative appeal itself is not a reason for postponement. Therefore, we planned the schedule based on obtaining a suspension of execution decision rather than relying on postponement. The goal was to submit the claim form and the suspension of execution application together within two weeks.
4. What’s the Difference Between a Re-Physical Examination and a Change in Military Disposition?
The articles that his sister found online were contradictory. Some articles said to undergo a re-physical examination, while others said to apply for a change in military disposition.
The three are challenging different things.
- Change in Military Disposition: This is a path for cases where a disease arises or worsens after receiving the disposition. It presupposes a change in condition.
- Re-Physical Examination: This is a procedure used when it is difficult to determine the grade at the time of the assessment.
- Administrative Appeal: This is a path to challenge that the judgment at the time of the disposition was different from the facts, that is, that the disposition itself is unlawful or unfair.
His shoulder did not worsen after the assessment. It had been in that condition before the assessment, and the documents showing that condition were simply missing from the assessment materials. If he applied for a change in military disposition, there was a high probability of receiving an answer stating, “There are no changed circumstances after the disposition.”
Therefore, we set the angle of contention as mistake of fact. The claim was that a condition that already existed at the time of the assessment was not reflected due to a lack of submitted documents. The grade of military assessment is determined according to the evaluation criteria of the “Rules for Physical Examination and Assessment,” etc. This criteria looks at surgical history, frequency of recurrence, and degree of functional limitation, rather than the disease name itself. The necessary documents for those items were needed.
5. Documents Linking Records with His Former Name
Now, I’m returning to the original name field. If he simply submitted the surgical record with his former name, the reviewing party might first suspect it’s someone else’s record.
The documents were linked together like this:
- Detailed Family Registry Certificate: This shows the fact of name change and both the former and current names together. It is an official link connecting him as the same person.
- Issuance of Duplicate Medical Records: We went directly to the hospital window with the name change documents to link the former name records with the current name and have them issued. It was a Monday morning when he finished his night shift, and his sister accompanied him.
- List of Issued Documents: Surgical record, pre-operative MRI reading report, outpatient medical record (including recurrence record), rehabilitation therapy record.
When handing over the outpatient records, an unexpected fact came to light. He remembered recurrence as “about twice,” but when combined with the emergency room record, there were four visits for dislocation. He remembered the two times during his high school years as light. The frequency of recurrence is an important item in the assessment criteria.
The day we visited the hospital, his sister sent a photo. It was a photo of his sleeping brother holding a waiting ticket at the issuance window. A note read, “I fell asleep while standing after finishing my night shift.” The waiting number in the photo was 187.
6. What to Include and Exclude in the Claim
He carefully asked before drafting the claim. The question was whether it would be advantageous to exaggerate the pain.
He didn’t do that. Using deception to avoid military service is punishable under the 「Military Service Act”. And any overstated statements undermine the credibility of the entire claim when they contradict the record. He only included facts supported by the record in the claim.
The claim’s framework consisted of three parts:
- Condition at the time of the decision: He showed the surgical records and diagnostic reports to demonstrate the surgical scope and the degree of injury before the surgery.
- Recurrence and progress: He organized outpatient and emergency room records chronologically to detail the four dislocations and rehabilitation period.
- Circumstances of data omission: He briefly explained the situation where hospital inquiries were blocked due to a name change, and why only a medical opinion was submitted at the time of assessment. He did not include sentences blaming the assessment procedure.
The application for suspension of execution included the enlistment date, the disadvantages that would arise if the assessment changed after enlistment, and the point that suspending execution would not have a significant impact on public interest. He submitted both documents online 34 days before the enlistment date.
7. Supplementary Statement After Receiving the Response
The decision on the suspension of execution came out 13 days after submission. It stated that execution of the decision would be suspended until a decision was made. The date written on the enlistment notice passed.
About a month later, a response from the Military Manpower Administration arrived. The main points were that the assessment was made according to the standard based on the submitted data and examination results at the time, and that the claimant’s failure to submit data at the time of assessment was due to the claimant’s circumstances.
This is a common defensive argument used by government agencies. It’s not necessarily incorrect. Therefore, the supplementary statement did not argue that the assessment procedure was wrong. Instead, it clearly stated that the subject of the dispute was not the procedure, but the facts.
- All newly submitted records were created before the assessment date. They are not matters that arose after the assessment.
- Grade assessment should be based on the actual condition, not on whether the documents were submitted.
- He showed the reason for the late submission as a name change issue with a basic certificate.
The supplementary statement included a table. The left column listed the items viewed by the assessment standard, the middle column listed the data submitted at the time of assessment, and the right column listed the newly submitted data. It made it easy to see which columns were empty at the time of assessment.
8. Decision and Re-assessment
The decision came out about four months after the claim was filed. It ordered the cancellation of the decision and a re-assessment reflecting the submitted medical records. The committee accepted that the new records showed the condition at the time of assessment. It did not separately judge the reason for the late submission of documents.
The subsequent physical examination reflected the surgical records and recurrence records in the assessment, and the grade was adjusted to social service personnel, making him eligible for collection as a supplementary service member. He decided to continue working at a logistics center until his service schedule was determined. He was also able to continue contributing to his mother’s loan interest.
In the last phone call, he said, “It’s not that I didn’t go to the military, but that I went to a place that fits my shoulder.” It was a well-expressed statement about what the military assessment objection procedure is for.
9. Administrative Agent Office Services and Checklist
Here’s a summary of what to check first when the military assessment result is unsatisfactory.
- First check two dates. The actual deadline is the earlier of the administrative appeal claim period (90 days from the date of notification) and the enlistment date.
- Choose the type of dispute. Determine whether the condition has changed since the decision or whether the decision at the time of assessment was different from the facts.
- Show the degree, not just the diagnosis. Surgical records, imaging reports, and records of recurrence and treatment are key.
- Connect the documents. Attach connecting documents for records that are broken, such as name changes, address changes, and hospital system differences.
- If you have an enlistment notice, also consider applying for suspension of execution. Enlistment will not stop with a claim alone.
Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office drafts military assessment administrative appeal claims and applications for suspension of execution, prepares and submits medical records and connecting documents, and drafts supplementary statements when a response is received. Requirements and standards vary depending on the case and require individual verification.
This is a story constructed to aid understanding.
