Construction Site Fall Death... Two Site Managers Receive Suspended Prison Sentences in First Trial

In 2021, two site managers at a construction site in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, were sentenced to suspended prison terms in the first trial related to the fall death of a worker.

According to the legal community on the 20th, the Seoul Western District Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Jeong Cheol-min) on the 9th sentenced site managers A (51) and B (57), who were tried for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act and causing death by negligence, to 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension and 6 months imprisonment with a 2-year suspension, respectively. The construction companies to which A and B belonged were also fined 7 million KRW and 5 million KRW, respectively.

The court explained the sentencing by stating, "The mental shock and sense of loss suffered by the victim's family must have been considerable," but also took into account that "A had no prior criminal record except for one fine, and B was a first-time offender, and that corrective orders had been completed."

The victim, a second-tier subcontracted worker, fell from the third floor of the construction site belonging to B’s company at around 7 a.m. on May 7, 2021, approximately 7.7 meters down to the ground floor, and died from traumatic brain injury caused by multiple trauma.

The construction company that won the contract entrusted part of the site construction to A’s company, and A’s company had a subcontracting contract with B’s company for part of the site building construction.

Although the third floor was not the victim’s designated workplace, no one prevented access, and safety railings were presumed not to have been installed. It was also reported that no separate safety training had been conducted.