Lee Sang-gyun, 64, CEO (vice chairman) of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, received a finalized suspended prison sentence for a worker's death at a shipyard four years ago. Although the case occurred before the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect, observers say the Supreme Court recognized management's responsibility because basic safety measures were not implemented at the site.
According to legal sources on the 28th, the Supreme Court's First Division (presiding Justice Shin Sook-hee) on the 6th upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced Lee to six months in prison, suspended for one year, in his appeal on charges of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and causing death by occupational negligence. Fines imposed on HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and managers indicted alongside him were all maintained.
The accident occurred on Feb. 5, 2021, at the large assembly Plant 1 of the shipbuilding and offshore division of Hyundai Heavy Industries. During outer plate assembly, a device used to secure a steel plate, a "lever puller," was not properly fixed, causing the plate to slip and fall, and a worker in his 40s passing through the site was struck in the head and died.
A prosecution investigation found that basic safety measures were missing at the scene, including setting up restricted areas, installing safety supports, preparing a work plan for heavy-load operations, and assigning a work supervisor.
The Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office on Nov. 22 of the same year indicted the then head of the shipbuilding and offshore division and others on charges including violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and sent the large assembly Plant 1 Director General, Head of Team, and foreman to trial on charges of causing death by occupational negligence. The Hyundai Heavy Industries corporation was indicted for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The court viewed CEO Lee's breach of duty as a management responsible person as serious. The first trial sentenced the vice chairman to six months in prison, suspended for one year. It imposed fines of 5 million to 8 million won on the large assembly Plant 1 Director General, Head of Team, and foreman, and a fine of 20 million won on the Hyundai Heavy Industries corporation.
The court said of Lee, "He is the overall safety and health manager who must create conditions in which the duty to implement safety and health measures can be observed after preparing a work plan reflecting risk assessment and safety measures when handling heavy loads and designating a work supervisor," and found that "if he failed to fulfill his responsibility, he neglected his duty despite knowing of the violation."
As for the large assembly Plant 1 employees, the court found that "within the scope of their job authority, the defendants failed to exercise due care, resulting in the victim's death."
The appeals court fully upheld the first-instance ruling. Regarding Lee, the court said, "If an employer or safety management officer orders work without sufficiently taking measures prescribed by law and a disaster occurs, causation is recognized."
Lee and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries appealed the ruling. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeals, saying the lower court did not misunderstand the law.
Lee graduated from Inha University with a degree in naval architecture and joined the hull construction department of the shipbuilding division at Hyundai Heavy Industries as an employee in 1983. After serving as CEO (president) of Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in 2018, he was appointed head of the shipbuilding division at Hyundai Heavy Industries in May 2020. Since Oct. 2021, he has served as CEO (president) of Hyundai Heavy Industries, and last month he was promoted to vice chairman of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.