A presidential fact-finding commission has decided to conduct an ex officio investigation into whether the death of a transgender Army soldier is linked to her being discharged after a gender reassignment surgery.

The Presidential Truth Commission on Deaths in the Military said on Tuesday that the decision to introduce the case of late former Staff Sergeant Byun Hee-soo was made during a regular conference the previous day.

The commission said the case holds precedent value with large social impact on the question of military service by transgender people and sexual minorities. It added that the causality between Byun's death and her forced discharge from the military was never investigated.

After undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2019, Byun expressed her intent to stay enlisted as a female soldier. The Army, however, discharged her in January 2020 under a Level Three physical disability assessment by law.

While seeking an administrative revocation, Byun was found dead in her home on March 3 by apparent suicide. 

As her obligated duty was initially set to expire on February 28, confirming the exact date of death by apparent suicide could lead to the recognition that she died in the line of duty.