'9th Floor Fall Accident Occurs' New Construction Site Manager Receives Suspended Sentence

The site manager responsible for fall prevention measures at a new construction site, where a construction worker fell to his death from the 9th floor, was given a suspended sentence.

According to the legal community on the 13th, Judge Kim Yoon-hee of the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 9 recently sentenced a man in his 50s, Mr. A, who was charged with professional negligence causing death and violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, to six months in prison with a one-year suspension. Construction company B was fined 5 million won for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

Construction company B was contracted to build a neighborhood living facility and office building in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, with a total contract amount of 4.5 billion won. Since February 2021, they have been employing about 30 regular workers to carry out the construction.

Mr. A worked as the site manager for the new construction project under construction company B. He had a duty of care in his work to prevent accidents by preparing for workers' fall risks, such as firmly installing protective measures like safety railings and fences, and installing fall protection nets when it was difficult to install railings.

On November 18, 2021, at around 1:50 p.m., a worker fell to his death while performing concrete pouring work on the 9th floor of the new construction site in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Mr. A was prosecuted for professional negligence for failing to require the use of safety harnesses and for not installing safety railings and fall protection nets, as well as for failing to take measures to prevent risks. Construction company B was charged for violations related to Mr. A’s work.

The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "Construction company B paid a settlement to the victim’s bereaved family and reached an amicable agreement with them," and "All corrective measures ordered by the relevant authorities regarding safety violations have been completed." The court also considered that both Mr. A and construction company B fully confessed to the crime, and that Mr. A had no prior convictions for similar offenses in the past 10 years.