Explosion at Dangjin Thermal Power Plant '2 Workers Dead'... Safety Management Officials Acquitted

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The not guilty verdicts for the construction and safety management supervisor and Korea East-West Power regarding the explosion of a high-voltage circuit breaker at the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant in Chungnam, which resulted in the deaths of two workers, have been finalized.

The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seon-su) announced on the 12th that it upheld the lower court's ruling of not guilty in the final appeal trial of construction management supervisor Mr. A (40), who was prosecuted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

In May 2016, Korea East-West Power purchased high-voltage circuit breakers and auxiliary materials for units 1 to 4 of the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant from Mr. A's company. The installation work was subcontracted to a separate company.

During the commissioning process of the new high-voltage circuit breakers, signal malfunction issues were discovered. On June 3, 2016, two workers belonging to the subcontractor who were inspecting the auxiliary contacts of the high-voltage circuit breaker suffered burns and died due to an explosion that occurred during the work. It was investigated that the circuit carrying a high-voltage current of 6.9 kV was not disconnected at the time.

Both the first and second trials concluded that the accident was not caused by Mr. A's fault. The basis for the not guilty verdict was that safety devices were in place, and since shutting off the circuit would halt the entire power plant's operation, other power plants also do not cut off the circuit during high-voltage circuit breaker replacement work.

Korea East-West Power and Mr. B (64), the head of the Dangjin Thermal Power Plant and safety management supervisor, who were jointly prosecuted for failing to provide flame-retardant work clothes to the victims (violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act), were also found not guilty regarding this accident. However, they were found guilty of charges such as failing to install toe boards on the plant's safety railings, safety walkways for workers, protective covers, and leaving loose pipe bolts unattended in July of the same year. Both the corporation and Mr. B were each fined 3 million won.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the lower courts' judgments.

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