70-Year-Old Security Guard Crushed to Death by 160kg School Gate... School Says "Resident Shook It"

School "Gate Damaged by Residents Shaking It"
Police "Difficult to Hold Residents Responsible"
Chungbuk Office of Education Issues Safety Inspection Order Late

A security guard in his 70s was crushed to death by an iron door at a high school in Cheongju, Chungbuk. [Source=MBC Press Release]

A fatal incident involving a man in his 70s who worked as a security guard at a high school in Cheongju, Chungbuk, crushed by a metal school gate, has come to light belatedly.

According to the police on the 23rd, around 6 a.m. on June 24, a security guard in his 70s was crushed by a fallen gate at a high school located in Cheongju. It was confirmed that he was opening the main gate following the school's directive to open the playground every morning for local residents when the accident occurred.

In response, the Chungbuk Provincial Police Agency announced on the 21st that they had sent four individuals, including the high school principal and the administrative director, to prosecution without detention on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. They are suspected of violating school facility safety inspection regulations under the Disaster and Safety Act. Police investigations revealed that the high school had not repaired the gate even once since its opening in 1999.

However, the school stated that "the gate was damaged because a resident shook it." Principal A said in an interview with MBC on the 22nd, "I believe the gate would not have been damaged if the local residents had not shaken it," and added, "It broke because they applied physical external pressure and force."

In fact, CCTV footage released by MBC captured a resident roughly shaking the metal gate 15 minutes before the accident. Afterward, the gate appeared to slightly sag, and the security guard appeared to try to open the gate, but it did not fold. Moments later, as he tried to push the gate again, the 160 kg metal gate fell and crushed the security guard. The police stated, "It is difficult to hold the residents responsible as they had no duty of care or foreseeability of the accident."

Meanwhile, the Chungbuk Office of Education reportedly sent an official letter to frontline schools belatedly after the accident, instructing them to conduct safety inspections of metal gates.