Middle School Student in Pohang Parking Lot Disaster Cannot Receive City Insurance Payment

Pohang City Citizen Safety Insurance Pays Up to 20 Million KRW to Families of Accident Death Victims
Deceased Was 14 Years Old... Contract Invalid Due to Law on Deaths Under Age 15

The family of Kim Ju-young, who died due to flooding in the underground parking lot of an apartment in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, is unable to receive the accidental death insurance payout because of commercial law regulations. The photo shows an apartment in Pohang, Gyeongbuk, flooded by Typhoon Hinnamnor on the 7th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The family of Kim Ju-young, who died in the underground parking lot of an apartment in Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province, due to Typhoon Hinnamnor last month, has been unable to receive the accidental death insurance payout from the city because of the Commercial Act.

According to the Korea Times on the 8th, Pohang City filed claims for the citizen safety insurance for 10 people who died in the underground parking lot of the apartment and other locations due to Typhoon Hinnamnor on the 6th of last month. The city had subscribed to citizen safety insurance to alleviate the burden on citizens affected by disasters, infectious diseases, and public transportation accidents. The families of accidental death victims can receive up to 20 million won in insurance payouts. However, Kim was 14 years old at the time of the accident, and under Article 732 of the Commercial Act, which states that contracts for death insurance for those under 15 years old are invalid, he was excluded from the insurance payout.

A Pohang City official said, "It is unfortunate that Kim was excluded from the insurance payout because he was 14 years old at the time of death," and added, "We requested the Korea Local Finance Association, which contracts the citizen safety insurance, to allow all citizens to enroll, but they stated it is impossible under the Commercial Act, so there is no proper solution." Moreover, Kim was known as a filial son who saved his mother trapped in a car in the underground parking lot and left his last words, "Thank you for raising me," which made many people mourn his death even more deeply.

The prohibition on accidental death insurance contracts for those under 15 is intended to prevent insurance crimes that harm minors. However, when families could not receive death insurance payouts due to this clause during the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, there were calls to guarantee accidental death insurance for those under 15 in group insurance, and movements to amend the law emerged. In the 20th National Assembly in 2017, Representative Baek Hyeryun of the Democratic Party proposed an amendment to delete "under 15 years old" from the relevant clause in the Commercial Act, but it ultimately did not pass.

In the insurance industry, considering the purpose of citizen safety insurance and the relatively small insurance amount, there is a growing voice that the "under 15" regulation should be abolished.