High School Security Guard Crushed at School Gate... No Inspections Conducted for 25 Years Since Opening

Security Guard in His 70s Found Dead in Cheongju, Chungbuk Last June
School Neglected Maintenance and Inspections for 25 Years... Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter Due to Work Negligence

In June, four school officials, including the principal, were referred to the prosecution in connection with an accident in which a security guard in his 70s was crushed to death by a steel school gate at a high school in Cheongju, Chungbuk.

On the 21st, the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Chungbuk Police Agency sent a report without detention to the prosecution against four school officials, including the principal and the administrative director of the high school where the accident occurred, on charges of professional negligence causing death, according to Yonhap News Agency. According to the Ministry of Education guidelines based on the Disaster and Safety Act, schools are required to inspect the safety status of facilities such as school gates once a month, but three school officials, including the administrative director, are suspected of violating this. The principal was also charged with neglecting management and supervision to ensure that staff properly carried out these duties. Police investigations revealed that the school installed the steel gate when it opened in 1999, but it had not conducted any repairs or inspections of the facility for 25 years.

Around 6:17 a.m. on June 24, a security guard in his 70s, Mr. A, was crushed and killed by a fallen door when the hinge of the steel main gate broke while he was opening it at a high school in Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, at 6:17 a.m. on June 24, a security guard in his 70s, Mr. A, was crushed to death by a steel front gate that collapsed after the hinge part detached while he was opening it at a high school in Seowon-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk. The school had been opening its playground every morning for local residents, and Mr. A was opening the front gate at that time when the accident occurred. The fallen steel gate measured approximately 2 meters in height, 1.3 meters in length, and 7 cm in width on one side, weighing about 300 kg. He was reportedly severely injured in the waist and other areas, trapped under both sides of the gate. Mr. A was rescued from under the gate with the help of a passerby nearby but ultimately died at the hospital.

Shortly before the accident, CCTV footage showed two residents shaking the closed gate vigorously, raising opinions that they might be related to the accident. However, the police judged that it was difficult to hold them responsible as they had no duty of care or foreseeability of the accident. After the accident, the National Forensic Service delivered an expert opinion to the police stating that "the hinge of the steel gate involved in the accident was aged and broken." Accordingly, the police concluded that the accident occurred because the school failed to properly manage the facility. Following the accident, the Chungbuk Office of Education belatedly sent an official letter to frontline schools instructing them to conduct safety inspections of steel entrance doors. Labor authorities are reviewing whether to apply the Serious Accident Punishment Act to the representative of the security service company to which Mr. A belonged.