(yunhap news)
In connection with the fire at the warehouse fire in Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, where 38 people died, the person responsible for the construction order was acquitted.
The first division of the Supreme Court (Chief Justice Park Jeong-hwa) announced on the 26th that it had confirmed the lower court’s verdict of acquittal of Han Express TF team leader A, who was charged with negligence and casualty on the job.
In April of last year, a fire broke out at the construction site of the Han Express warehouse in Icheon, killing 38 people and injuring 12 others. Oxygen welding work on the second basement floor of the low-temperature warehouse was cited as the cause of the disaster. In particular, it was investigated that the evacuation route was closed for reasons of condensation prevention.
Person A and others were indicted on charges of negligence in the duty of care for fire prevention.
The first trial sentenced him to eight months in prison and two years of probation, saying, “The violation of the duty of care, such as closing the emergency exit passage in the name of improving efficiency by preventing condensation, is recognized.”
On the other hand, the second trial acquitted the court, saying, “The duty of safety measures was handed over to the supervisory company, and the decision to close the evacuation route seems to be a design change within the authority of the owner.”
The decision to close the evacuation route was also made before the revision of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (Mountain Mountain Act) was implemented. The amendment to the Sanan Act, which aims to strengthen the responsibility of the primary contractor for industrial accidents of subcontractors, has been applied to construction contracts signed after January 16, last year.
Meanwhile, Mr. B, the construction site manager, who was indicted along with Mr. A, was sentenced to 3 years in prison, the person in charge of safety management was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and Mr. D, the supervisor of the architectural office, was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison.
