Supreme Court Orders Samsung SDS to Pay 28.3 Billion KRW for 'Gwacheon ICT Fire'

Samsung SDS will receive over 28 billion KRW in damages in a lawsuit filed against Hanwha Aerospace and others, who were in charge of building management at the time, related to the 2014 fire incident at the Gwacheon data center.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Heung-gu) announced on the 7th that it upheld the lower court's ruling ordering Daesung Tech, Hanwha Aerospace (Hanwha Techwin), Samsung Heavy Industries, and two other companies to pay Samsung SDS approximately 28.38 billion KRW in damages in the lawsuit for damages filed by Samsung SDS.

Samsung SDS filed a lawsuit in 2017 against Hanwha Aerospace and others, demanding compensation of 68.36 billion KRW related to the 2014 fire incident at the Gwacheon ICT Center. Due to the fire, services of Samsung Group's financial affiliates were suspended for three days, and the total damage amount, including compensation for losses to client companies and partners, was calculated at 106.9 billion KRW.

The first trial court rejected Samsung SDS's claim, stating that defects such as flue overheating or exhaust gas leakage could not be considered the cause of the fire, and that the flue manufacturer could not be held responsible.

On the other hand, the second trial court found that there was evidence suggesting that assembly or welding defects in the generator flue pipe and poor building finishing work may have caused gaps, holding partial liability for damages. However, based on the principle of the Damage Compensation Act, the court limited the scope of liability to 60% and ordered payment of approximately 28.38 billion KRW to Samsung SDS.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial court's judgment.

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