Swimming Instructor Given Probation in First Trial for Death of 4-Year-Old Child Drowned in Water

Swimming Pool Instructor Sentenced to 2 Years Probation

A swimming instructor at an apartment pool in Busan, where a 4-year-old boy drowned, was sentenced to probation.

On the 8th, Yonhap News reported that the Busan District Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judge Bae Jin-ho) sentenced A, a swimming instructor in his 30s who was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter due to negligence, to one year in prison with a two-year probation and ordered 80 hours of community service.

B, the head of the apartment pool safety management team who was also indicted, was fined 5 million won.

The accident occurred at 7:39 p.m. on February 8 last year at an apartment pool in Busan. At the time, a 4-year-old child playing in the water with an assistive device got the device caught on the ladder and was unable to get out of the water for about 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

A, who discovered the child late, pulled the child out of the water, but the child, who was transferred to the hospital after emergency treatment, ultimately died after 7 days. The direct cause of death was determined to be drowning.

At the time, the pool depth was 120?124 cm, which was deeper than the child’s height of 109 cm. The apartment pool was divided into an adult pool and a children’s pool, but the children’s pool was reportedly not in operation at the time of the accident.

Also, A, who was conducting a class for adult students at the time, did not accurately assess the situation despite repeated requests for help from another 7-year-old child playing with C, and did not immediately rescue C.

The court stated, "A passed by the accident scene of the victim child but failed to immediately recognize the occurrence of the accident, showing a serious breach of duty of care," and added, "Although the validity period of the lifeguard certification had expired, A did not inform the senior manager and concurrently performed lifeguard duties."

Regarding B, the court explained the sentencing reasons, considering "the fact that children shorter than the pool depth were accepted as students, that lessons were conducted together with adult students which increased the risk of accidents, and that no measures were taken to replace or repair the ladder which caused the accident."

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