"If the victim had worn only a safety helmet..." Defendant's side appeals for leniency
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Regarding the accident last year at the new construction site of Hwajeong Gold Class in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, where a worker fell and died, two individuals including the site manager of the construction company who were brought to trial have been sentenced to imprisonment.
On the 22nd, at the sentencing hearing held at the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 6 (Presiding Judge Park Chan-woo), the prosecution requested a six-month prison sentence each for B (52), director of subcontractor A Construction, and D (51), site manager of C Construction, who were indicted on charges including involuntary manslaughter due to negligence.
The prosecution also requested the court to impose a fine of 7 million won on A Construction.
They were brought to trial on charges of causing the death of a worker who fell from the stairs between the 5th and 6th floors of Building 103 at the Seo-gu Hwajeong Gold Class new construction site, which was being built by the local construction company Bogwang General Construction, due to failure to take appropriate safety protection measures on May 25 last year.
It was investigated that the worker fell from a 1.5-meter-high work platform while plastering the wall inside the internal stairs.
At the time, other workers and the site safety manager nearby did not recognize that an accident had occurred, and the body was left unattended at the site for more than 12 hours.
The deceased was found by a fellow worker around 6:30 a.m. the next day, which was also the victim’s 58th birthday.
In the final statement, the defense attorney for A Construction emphasized, "The defendants admit all the charges and are pleading guilty," and added, "They have amicably settled with the bereaved family, agreeing not to pursue civil or criminal liability."
However, the attorney added, "It appears that the victim was not wearing a safety helmet properly at the time," and said, "I think if the safety helmet had been worn properly, this tragic outcome might have been avoided."
This defense argues for leniency considering that the victim’s negligence contributed to the serious outcome of this incident.
The representatives of Bogwang General Construction and C Construction, who were also indicted for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act, were absent from court due to personal reasons such as COVID-19 infection. The trial for these two companies is scheduled for April 14.
The sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled after that date.
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