Former President of Incheon Port Authority Sentenced to Prison for Death of Lock Gate Worker

Former Incheon Port Authority President Choi Jun-wook (56), who was prosecuted for failing to properly manage safety in connection with a worker's fatal fall accident at the Incheon Port lock gate, was sentenced to imprisonment and detained in court on the 7th.

Incheon District Court [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the day, Judge Oh Ki-doo of the Criminal Division 1 at Incheon District Court sentenced former President Choi, who was charged with violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act, to 1 year and 6 months in prison. For the same charge, the authority was fined 100 million won, and two representatives of subcontractors for the lock gate repair work, including Mr. A (52) , were each fined 50 million won.

The court stated, "The Constitution includes a provision that 'the State shall endeavor to prevent disasters and protect the people from their risks.'" "Public institutions that mainly subcontract must bear strict responsibility as employers so that the judicial system can properly guarantee the fundamental rights of the people," and "Former President Choi, as the person in charge of overall safety and health at the authority, did not take necessary measures to prevent industrial accidents and was aware that work was carried out without safety measures."

Furthermore, "Former President Choi and the authority outsourced the lock gate maintenance work to subcontractors with poor manpower and asset scale, then shifted all responsibility to the companies and consistently made excuses," adding, "Such abuse of power and outsourcing of risks created a structure that caused the deaths of numerous workers."

Earlier, former President Choi was prosecuted for failing to properly manage safety during repair work at the Incheon Port lock gate in Jung-gu, Incheon, on June 3, 2020. Around 8:18 a.m. that day, Mr. B (46 at the time of death), who was performing repair work on top of the Incheon Port lock gate, fell 18 meters to the ground below and passed away while receiving treatment at the hospital, leaving behind children aged 11 to 12.

The prosecution regarded the authority, the ordering party, as effectively the primary contractor and indicted former President Choi and others for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act. The lock gate repair work was ordered by the authority, and a private company led by Mr. A was investigated to have won the contract and carried out the work. At the last sentencing hearing, the prosecution demanded a 3-year prison sentence for former President Choi.

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