“Main contractor acquitted in serious accident case for ‘fulfilling safety obligations’”, 21 May 2025

A main contractor has been acquitted in a case under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, after the court ruled that the employer had fulfilled their legal obligation to secure workplace safety. This is the fifth acquittal since the law came into force on 27 January 2022, but the first where the court explicitly recognised that the main contractor had met its safety responsibilities. While the main contractor was found not guilty, the court convicted the subcontractor’s representative.

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The incident involved a worker employed by a subcontractor of Samhwa Construction, who died on 17 October 2022 after being buried in collapsed soil while installing a sewer pipe near an apartment complex in Geumgwang-dong, Gunsan City, North Jeolla Province. The construction site was reportedly at risk of soil collapse at the time.

However, investigations found that the main contractor had failed to implement ground collapse prevention measures.

The court ruled that Samhwa Construction had subcontracted the project to S Corporation and, as the deceased worker was operating under the subcontractor’s supervision, the legal responsibility for ensuring safety rested with the subcontractor, not with the main contractor’s site manager.

Legal experts have criticised the verdict as undermining the legislative intent of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.