In the Bathhouse, a Slip Causes a Broken Arm... Appellate Court Rules "Owner Is Responsible"

Ulsan District Court Upholds Original Verdict of 2 Million Won Fine

An appellate court ruling found that the owner of a public bathhouse was negligent after a customer slipped and was injured.

The Ulsan District Court Criminal Appeals Division 1-3 (Chief Judge Lee Bong-su) announced on the 11th that it upheld the original sentence of a 2 million won fine against A, a man in his 60s who owns the bathhouse and was tried on charges of professional negligence causing injury, thereby dismissing the appeal.

According to the Ulsan District Court and the prosecution, B, a man in his 30s, slipped after stepping on a drainage channel installed on the floor while walking in a bathhouse operated by A in Ulsan at the end of January 2022. As a result of the accident, B suffered a fractured arm and received treatment for about nine months.

The prosecution indicted A, arguing that he had a professional duty of care to prevent safety accidents in the bathhouse but failed to take any safety measures regarding the drainage channel.

A claimed in court that the accident was unforeseeable, but the court did not accept this argument.

The first trial court sentenced A to a 2 million won fine, citing that the drainage channel was 13 cm wide and located between shower booths on both sides, forcing customers to cross it to enter the bath; that water and soap suds had accumulated around the drainage channel making it slippery; and that unlike the women's bath drainage channel, no anti-slip mats were installed in the men's bath.

A appealed, claiming the original sentence was too harsh, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal, stating, "The bathhouse operator could have foreseen that users crossing the drainage channel might slip and fall but failed to install accident prevention facilities."

Bathhouse reference photo. Not related to the article content.

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