DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Crime & Justice

20s worker dies from overwork; court sentences factory manager to prison

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • A factory manager received a six-month prison sentence for failing to take action against an employee working beyond legal limits.
  • The 20-year-old worker repeatedly exceeded the 52-hour weekly limit between March and May 2023, leading to their death from a pre-existing condition.
  • The court found the manager negligent in supervising the worker, who had expressed severe fatigue and chest pain.

A factory manager has been sentenced to six months in prison for negligence that led to the death of a young worker. The manager, identified only as Mr. K, 58, was found guilty of violating labor laws by allowing a 20-year-old employee to work excessive hours.

The defendant, knowing that the victim, the youngest employee in the management department, was working more than 52 hours a week from March 2023, did not properly check or supervise the workload. As a result, the victim collapsed and died from a pre-existing illness, yet the defendant denied the crime and did not reach a settlement with the bereaved family.

— Ulsan District CourtThe court explained its reasoning for sentencing the factory manager.

Between March and May 2023, the worker, identified as Mr. N, was repeatedly instructed to work beyond the legal limit of 52 hours per week. In one instance, Mr. N worked 59 hours in a single week. These extended hours were reportedly to cover increased production demands, with Mr. N taking on 2-3 hours of production work after completing his own office tasks.

Court documents revealed that Mr. N had communicated his distress to family and friends through text messages, expressing extreme fatigue, dizziness, and chest pain. He mentioned working long hours and having little sleep, even stating he felt he might collapse. Despite these clear signs of distress and the known risks associated with exceeding legal working hours, the court found that Mr. K failed to adequately supervise or address the worker's workload.

I worked 20 hours yesterday and am tired and dizzy. I feel like I'm going to collapse. I only slept for 3 hours before coming to work. The factory manager told me to do this.

— Mr. N (deceased worker)A text message sent by the worker to his family expressing his extreme fatigue and the demanding work schedule.

The Ulsan District Court handed down the sentence, emphasizing that the manager was aware of the worker exceeding 52 hours weekly but did not properly monitor or manage the intensity of the work. The court also noted that Mr. K denied wrongdoing and had not reached a settlement with the deceased worker's family.

I'm going to work overtime on Sunday.

— Mr. N (deceased worker)Another text message from the worker indicating his demanding schedule.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog