Former Samkang S&C CEO Sentenced to Two Years in Prison in Appeal for Serious Accidents Punishment Act Violation

The former CEO of Samkang S&C, who was brought to trial on charges of causing a worker's death by failing to properly install safety equipment and other measures, was sentenced to prison in the appeals court as well.

The Criminal Division 5-2 of the Changwon District Court in South Gyeongsang Province (Presiding Judges Han Nara, Shin Subin, and Kwon Sua) on the 13th rejected the appeal filed by Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and sentenced him to two years in prison.

The court also upheld the fine of 2 billion won imposed on the Samkang S&C corporation.

For the two other individuals who were tried alongside Mr. A, the court overturned the original suspended sentences and instead handed down suspended sentences for imprisonment.

Mr. A, who had been released on bail after being sentenced to two years in prison in the first trial, was taken into custody in court following the sentencing on this day.

Changwon District Court. Photo by Lee Seryoung

Previously, Mr. A was indicted on charges of failing to implement protective measures such as installing safety railings or fall protection nets at the workplace in connection with the death of a worker in his 50s, Mr. B, who fell and died while repairing ship safety railings at the Samkang S&C site in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, on February 19, 2022.

It is known that at this workplace, three workers from partner companies died in less than a year, with accidents occurring in March and April 2021, and again in September 2023 while the first trial was ongoing.

During the trial, Mr. A's side denied the charges, claiming that Mr. B may have had the accident in an area where the safety railings had been properly installed.

However, the first trial court ruled, "Samkang S&C did not consider installing fall protection nets from the beginning, judging that the installation would not be cost-effective in terms of time and expense," and found Mr. A guilty.

Mr. A appealed the sentence, arguing that it was excessive, but the appellate court reached the same conclusion as the first trial.

The appellate court stated, "The purpose of enacting the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is to prevent accidents in advance, but at Samkang S&C, accidents continued to occur in a short period of time. Considering these circumstances, the sentence should be sufficient to impact the company's organizational culture and safety management system, and in this regard, the original sentence is appropriate," explaining the reason for rejecting the appeal.

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