The Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of Kim Nam-kyu, chief executive of SK Multi Utility (SKMU), a subsidiary of SK Chemicals (285130.KS), who was charged under South Korea's Serious Accidents Punishment Act over the death of a subcontractor's worker at the company's coal unloading dock.
The court's second division, presided over by Justice Park Young-jae, recently affirmed the lower court ruling that found the CEO not guilty of charges including violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act resulting in an industrial death, according to legal sources on the 27th.
The accident occurred on December 20, 2022, at the SKMU coal unloading dock in Nam-gu, Ulsan, where a subcontracted worker in his 60s, identified as A, was buried under coal and died. The accident happened as a dump truck loaded with coal was discharging its cargo. Unloading requires opening the rear gate of the truck bed and then raising the bed so the coal slides into a hopper, a funnel-shaped structure. But the driver, identified as B, raised the bed without opening the rear gate, causing the bed to tip over and coal to bury A, who was standing nearby. The truck was carrying 38 tons of coal, exceeding its maximum load capacity of 25.65 tons. Because the coal could not be discharged as the bed rose, the hydraulic cylinder supporting and adjusting the bed buckled under the weight, and the bed toppled.
Prosecutors argued that access by other workers should have been restricted during unloading operations at the coal dock, and that the chief executives of both the contractor and the subcontractor were responsible for failing to implement proper safety measures such as assigning a monitor, closing entrances and installing no-entry barriers. They indicted him on charges including violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
The trial and appellate courts both acquitted the CEO. The first-instance court noted that a warning reading "Absolutely no entry during unloading" was posted on a wall at the accident site, and concluded that the accident was caused by the dump truck driver's operating error. The court found it difficult to hold that management had a duty to specifically foresee an unusual accident such as a dump truck bed tipping over and to take additional preventive steps such as access control.
The Supreme Court maintained the appellate court's judgment. "The lower court's judgment does not violate the rules of logic and experience so as to exceed the limits of free evaluation of evidence, nor does it involve misapprehension of the law regarding the establishment of the offenses of occupational negligence resulting in death, violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, or violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act resulting in an industrial death, nor any omission of judgment," the court said.
The head of the subcontractor, identified as C, who was also indicted under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and the subcontracting corporation, indicted for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and occupational negligence resulting in death, were also acquitted. However, SKMU as a corporation and its safety management officer, an executive director identified as D, were each fined 5 million won after it was confirmed that safety railings had not been properly installed. The dump truck driver received eight months in prison suspended for two years, and the head of the coal transport company employing the driver received six months in prison suspended for two years, with both sentences finalized.
