Office Worker Dies of Alcohol Intoxication After Three Consecutive Company Dinners... Court Rules "Work-Related Injury Must Be Recognized"

Work-related injury has been recognized for an office worker who died of acute alcohol intoxication after attending company dinners with colleagues and business associates for three consecutive days.

On September 21, according to the legal community, the Seoul Administrative Court’s Division 3 (Presiding Judge Choi Sujin) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the spouse of Mr. A against the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, seeking to overturn the decision not to grant survivor benefits and funeral expenses.

Mr. A, who was in charge of sales management for Mexico in the Wireless Business Division at Samsung Electronics, was found dead in the parking lot of his home in July 2022. The cause of death was acute alcohol intoxication. Mr. A’s spouse claimed survivor benefits and funeral expenses, but the agency denied the claim, stating that it was difficult to determine that the death was due to an occupational disease. In response, his wife filed a lawsuit to overturn the agency’s decision.

Investigations found that Mr. A had consumed alcohol at company dinners for three consecutive days leading up to his death, with the key issue being whether there was a causal relationship between the last dinner and his work. The first two dinners involved business associates, and the expenses were covered by company funds. In contrast, the dinner on the day before his death was attended by employees of the Mexico division, for which Mr. A was responsible, as well as locally hired staff. The meal expenses were split between Mr. A’s personal card and the cards of local employees. Based on this, the agency judged the gathering to be a private event.

However, the court found that “it is difficult to conclude that the dinner was unrelated to work solely because Mr. A paid for the meal,” and ruled that the agency’s decision was unlawful and should be overturned. The court noted that Mr. A was responsible for managing sales in Mexico, required close cooperation with local staff, and was scheduled for a long-term business trip to Mexico in August of the same year. In light of these factors, the court determined that “given the nature of the dinner as a welcome event for the business trip, it would have been difficult for him to refuse alcohol.” The court also pointed out that the meal cost alone was 1 million won, making it hard to view the event as merely a casual social gathering.

Additionally, the court stated, “It can be inferred that Mr. A’s blood alcohol concentration was further elevated by continuous drinking before the alcohol from the previous two dinners was fully metabolized,” suggesting that the earlier dinners may have also contributed to his death in a complex manner.