‘Late Kim Yong-gyun Death Case’, Former CEO of Korea Western Power Confirmed Not Guilty

Former CEO Kim Byung-sook of Korea Western Power and related personnel were acquitted in the case of the death of the late Kim Yong-gyun (then 24 years old) at the Korea Electric Power Corporation Taean Thermal Power Plant.

On the morning of the 4th, a press conference was held in front of the Supreme Court in Seoul, urging the Supreme Court to make a responsible ruling regarding the death of worker Kim Yong-gyun. Participants are shouting slogans. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dong-won) on the 7th upheld the lower court's acquittal of former Korea Western Power CEO Kim and employees of Korea Power Engineering, who were charged with violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act and professional negligence resulting in death.

Kim was a non-regular worker affiliated with Korea Power Engineering and was found dead around 3:20 a.m. on December 11, 2018, caught in a conveyor belt used for coal transportation at Taean Thermal Power Plant.

The prosecution indicted nine executives and employees of Korea Western Power, including former CEO Kim, and five executives and employees of the subcontractor Korea Power Engineering, including former CEO Baek Nam-ho, without detention, on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

The first trial court acquitted former CEO Kim, finding it difficult for him to have specifically recognized the dangers of the conveyor belt identified as the cause of Kim’s death and the issues in the consignment contract with the subcontractor. However, it found former CEO Baek and employees of the Korea Western Power Taean Power Headquarters guilty, sentencing former CEO Baek to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation and fining the Taean Power Headquarters employees 10 million won.

The second trial court mostly upheld the first trial’s judgment. The appellate court ruled that "Korea Western Power delegated the establishment of safety and health management plans and work environment improvements to the power headquarters and has no duty of care to inspect equipment and work environments within the Taean Power Headquarters." It added, "To recognize a specific breach of duty of care, it must be possible to perceive the danger in the inspection duties of on-site operators, but it is difficult to see that the operators were aware of the risks in their work methods," acquitting former CEO Kim. Former CEO Baek’s sentence was reduced to 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation, and the Taean Power Headquarters employees were acquitted.

The Supreme Court ruled that "the lower court did not fail to conduct necessary hearings, nor did it violate the rules of logic and experience or exceed the limits of free evaluation of evidence, and there is no error in the relevant legal principles or contradictions in reasoning," affirming the lower court’s judgment.

Meanwhile, the death of Kim became the impetus for the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which holds the representatives of primary contractors responsible for accidents caused by subcontractors.