Supreme Court: "Subcontractors Also Responsible for Accident Prevention in Workplace Fatalities at Primary Contractors"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has ruled that subcontractors' business owners should also be held responsible for accidents resulting in the death of subcontractor employees working at the primary contractor's workplace.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Ahn Cheol-sang) overturned the lower court's ruling that acquitted subcontractor Company A of LG Display Co., Ltd., its team leader, subcontractor Company B that supplies products to Company A, and its CEO of charges including violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, and sent the case back to the Uijeongbu District Court on the 21st.

The court stated, "The lower court's judgment that the defendant companies had no obligation under Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act without examining whether health measures were taken to prevent workers' health hazards was incorrect."

It further emphasized, "When workers employed by one business owner provide labor at another's workplace, the mere fact that the workplace is not directly managed or controlled by the business owner does not automatically negate the business owner's duty to prevent accidents. If the workplace within another's business site is a confined space with risks of accidents, the business owner has an obligation to take necessary measures to prevent health hazards to workers."

In January 2015, a nitrogen gas leak occurred at LG Display's factory in Paju City, Gyeonggi Province. Three subcontractor employees died in the accident. Among the deceased, two belonged to subcontractor Company A of LG Display, and one was an employee of subcontractor Company B, which supplies to Company A.

The employees were inspecting factory equipment during lunch break when a valve suddenly opened, releasing nitrogen gas that they inhaled, resulting in their deaths.

The prosecution, finding that workplace safety management was inadequate, indicted LG Display executives along with executives of subcontractors Company A and B on charges including professional negligence causing death and violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

The first trial recognized only the professional negligence causing death charges against Company A's team leader and Company B's CEO as guilty, sentencing them to 10 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation and 8 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation, respectively. The charges of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act were acquitted, reasoning that Company A and B were not business owners obligated to take measures under the Act.

The second trial upheld the first trial's ruling, stating, "It is difficult to see that Company A and B have the ability or obligation to oversee and coordinate the overall process of work conducted at the workplace in this case, or to determine the work environment and labor conditions, and therefore they do not qualify as business owners obligated to take health measures under Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.