A worker in his 60s who had been working six days a week at a garment processing factory collapsed and died, but it was revealed that the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (K-COMWEL) did not recognize it as an industrial accident based solely on the employer's account. The court overturned the agency's decision and ruled that survivor benefits must be paid.
The Seoul Administrative Court's 13th Panel (Presiding Judge Jin Hyun-seop) said on Jan. 23 that it ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed on Sept. 25 by two children of the deceased worker, identified as A, seeking to overturn the denial of survivor benefits and funeral expenses by the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (K-COMWEL). The court said, "Considering A's work pattern and workload, a substantial causal relationship between the death and the work is recognized."
According to the judgment, since 2020, A had handled production processes at a garment subcontracting company, including marking button placement, drilling buttonholes, removing loose threads, attaching price tags, packaging, and ironing. At 6:30 a.m. on June 26 last year, shortly after arriving at work, A showed symptoms of paralysis in the arms and legs and was taken to the emergency room 25 minutes later. After receiving treatment for nearly a month, A died of cerebral hemorrhage on July 21 of the same year.
The bereaved family requested recognition of an industrial accident, saying excessive labor was the cause, but the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (K-COMWEL) did not simply accept the employer's statement.
The employer claimed A's start time was 8:30 a.m., with work ending at 7 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Excluding break times, weekly working hours were about 51 hours and 30 minutes, the employer said.
However, the bereaved family countered that the company's account was false, saying, "A often started work around 7 a.m. and left after 7 p.m." A's spouse said, "We were told it was so busy that A had to go in even on Sundays."
The court recognized, based on call records and statements from company employees, that A worked six days a week and typically arrived before 8:30 a.m. and worked overtime until around 9 p.m. It also found that A often went to work on public holidays.
The court said, "A substantial causal relationship is recognized between A's death and the work," canceled the agency's disposition, and ordered the Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (K-COMWEL) to pay survivor benefits and funeral expenses.
Survivor benefits are paid to the spouse or children of a worker who died from an industrial accident. They consist of 47% of the average wage calculated based on wages received during the three months immediately before the worker's death, plus an additional charge. Funeral expenses equal 120 days of the average wage of a worker who died from an industrial accident.