Lawmaker Kwon Chil-seung proposes bill to cover emergency medical costs during rescuer-status review

Jang Yun-gi, 23, is on trial on charges of murder and attempted murder after allegedly stabbing and killing a female high school student and attacking a male high school student with a knife in Gwangju on May 5. [Yonhap]
Jang Yun-gi, 23, is on trial on charges of murder and attempted murder after allegedly stabbing and killing a female high school student and attacking a male high school student with a knife in Gwangju on May 5. [Yonhap]

A male high school student who was seriously injured while trying to save the late Lee Chae-won, 16, during the May 5 stabbing attack by Jang Yun-gi, 23, in Gwangju was officially recognized as an "injured rescuer" on July 24 — 52 days after filing his application. The student, identified only as A, sustained injuries requiring four weeks of recovery after being attacked by Jang.

Rep. Kwon Chil-seung of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, introduced a bill Friday to allow people awaiting injured-rescuer status reviews to receive emergency medical cost support in the interim. The bill proposes amendments to the Act on the Honorable Treatment of and Support for Persons of Distinguished Service to the State.

Under the proposed amendment, the state or local governments could cover medical expenses before a final decision if there are reasonable grounds to believe an applicant was injured while attempting to rescue another person and urgent treatment is needed. The bill also includes a clawback provision requiring repayment of any support obtained through fraudulent means.

The average time to complete an injured-rescuer status review has risen consistently over the past four years — from 20 days across 26 cases in 2022, to 28 days across 35 cases in 2023, 50 days across 30 cases in 2024, and 52 days across 30 cases in 2025.

"The injured-rescuer review process must be conducted rigorously, but the state and local governments should take responsibility first when it comes to urgent, life-critical treatment," Kwon said. "I will do my utmost to pass this amendment so that acts of good-faith rescue — where someone is injured trying to save another person's life — do not translate into financial hardship for the individual and their family."


arin@heraldcorp.com