If a fatal accident occurs at a thermal power plant construction site, the Supreme Court has ruled that responsibility for industrial safety management lies with the construction company in charge of the work, not the power company.
The Supreme Court's First Division (presiding Justice Seo Kyung-hwan) said on July 9 that on June 25 it overturned the lower court ruling and remanded the case to the Daejeon District Court, finding that power plant operation and construction are separate businesses, in a case where Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) was indicted on charges including violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. For Kumho E&C, which was indicted together as the contractor, the court affirmed the lower court's ruling, rejecting the appeal and finalizing a fine of 50 million won.
Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO) began construction in 2016 of the Shin Seocheon Thermal Power Plant next to the existing site to replace the Seocheon Thermal Power Plant, which closed in 2017. The plant was completed in 2021 and began commercial operation.
The accident occurred around 3 p.m. on Apr. 10, 2020, during construction. An electrical explosion occurred during the installation of flue gas desulfurization equipment, and a worker in his 40s suffered third-degree burns over his body and was taken to a hospital, where he died. Three other workers suffered second- to third-degree burns.
Prosecutors brought the case to trial, saying that not only Kumho E&C, the builder, but also Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO), the ordering company, and its executives and employees failed to fulfill their duty to take safety and health measures as a contractor under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The first trial acquitted Korea Midland Power Co. (KOMIPO). The first-instance panel said, "KOMIPO's power plant construction work is a one-off task, it does not have a comprehensive construction license, and it does not have professional technical personnel," adding, "It cannot be said to have a duty to take safety and health measures as a contractor in relation to the construction."
In the second trial, KOMIPO was fined 50 million won. The appellate panel said, "KOMIPO argues it has no contractor's duty, but given that it has controlled and managed power plant construction at 27 business sites nationwide within its own premises, it is recognized as having the contractor's duty, including for facility construction, and the duty to take safety measures."
The Supreme Court, by contrast, determined that it was a construction client, not a contractor. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, contractors have a duty to take safety and health measures, while construction clients are only subject to a separate duty to take industrial accident prevention measures.
The Supreme Court said, "It is difficult to conclude that KOMIPO exercised substantial influence over the subcontractor (Kumho E&C) as a contracting employer with high expertise in the flue gas desulfurization equipment work," adding, "It is difficult to find that KOMIPO committed offenses such as violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act in connection with this accident."