Supreme Court Confirms Guilt of Responsible Parties and Corporation in 2015 SK Hynix Asphyxiation Accident

SK Hynix Headquarters Main Gate in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has confirmed the guilty verdicts against the responsible individuals and the corporation for the 2015 SK Hynix suffocation accident that resulted in the deaths of three workers.

On the 2nd, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice No Taeak) announced that it upheld the original court rulings, which sentenced six people including SK Hynix Executive Director A and the corporation to suspended prison terms and fines on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act. They were tried for failing to properly manage factory safety in connection with the accident on April 30, 2015, at the SK Hynix factory construction site in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, where three workers?Seo (42), Lee (43), and Kang (54)?suffocated in nitrogen while inspecting the organic chemical combustion chamber.

The lower courts found them guilty of these charges, sentencing A and two others to six months in prison with a one-year suspension, and the remaining three to fines of 3 million won each. The court at the time stated, "It is recognized that most of A's team members supervised and managed the construction site, including equipment installation work." SK Hynix was fined 5 million won as it was deemed a "business owner" who subcontracted part of the work.

The Supreme Court agreed with this judgment and dismissed all appeals by A and others. The court ruled, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience or exceeds the limits of free evaluation of evidence, nor is there a misinterpretation of the legal duty of care in professional negligence resulting in death." Regarding SK Hynix, it also stated, "There is no error affecting the judgment in the interpretation of the former Industrial Safety and Health Act's provisions on 'business owners.'"

Meanwhile, on the 29th of last month, the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission finalized amendments to the sentencing guidelines under the Industrial Safety and Health Act, strengthening penalties for business operators who fail to fulfill safety management duties resulting in worker deaths. Accordingly, the basic sentencing guideline for crimes involving violations of safety and health obligations under the Industrial Safety and Health Act resulting in worker deaths has been raised to imprisonment from 1 year to 2 years and 6 months. If there are two or more aggravating factors (special aggravators), the sentence can be increased up to 7 years. For repeat offenders who commit two or more of the same crimes with two or more special aggravators within five years, the maximum recommended sentence has been raised to 10 years and 6 months imprisonment.

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