Panoramic view of Uijeongbu District Court. /News 1
Company officials were found guilty in the first trial in connection with the case in which a 30-year-old worker became brain dead after drinking toxic substances contained in a paper cup, mistaking it for water.
According to the legal community, on the 21st, Judge Jeong Seo-hyun, Penal Branch 3 of Uijeongbu District Court, sentenced Mr. A, a man in his 30s, to 10 months in prison and 2 years of probation on the charge of violating the Chemical Substances Control Act. and causing manslaughter due to professional negligence. He was also ordered to carry out 160 hours of community service. Mr. A’s boss, Mr. B, was sentenced to a fine of 8 million won, and the company in question was sentenced to a fine of 20 million won.
This incident occurred on June 28 last year at a company laboratory in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, Mr. A placed a paper cup containing toxic chemicals containing hydrofluoric acid on his desk to test optical lens materials. This is a colorless, toxic solution and has been used primarily as a detergent. The victim, Mrs C, an employee in her thirties, drank the chemical substance contained in the paper cup, mistaking it for water, and was taken to hospital in cardiac arrest. Mr. C’s pulse and breathing returned, but he eventually fell into a brain-dead state and to this day has not regained consciousness.
The investigating authorities believed that the people involved in this case did not intend to harm Mr C. However, the prosecution considered that there had been negligence in not indicating that it was a toxic substance or in not placing it in a container . Previously, the prosecution had asked for 2 years and 6 months of imprisonment for the defendants, claiming that they had caused serious and irreparable injuries to the victim by neglecting the handling of dangerous chemicals.
Judge Jeong said: “To blame the victim for his mistake, the laboratory where the accident occurred is a place mainly used by the victim’s team, and the defendant rarely goes there. He added: “The victim usually drinks water from a paper cup, and the paper cup was placed within reach.” It was determined that the defendant’s negligence was much more serious as it was quite possible that the person confused it with his own. He further stated: “The company is not guilty of the fact that the accident occurred without identifying the chemical ingredients and that the victim who went to hospital did not receive appropriate measures in a timely manner.”
Judge Jeong said: “However, instead of the victim not regaining consciousness, we reached a settlement by apologizing to the victim’s spouse and providing compensation for the damage” and “I took into consideration the fact that the company appears to have done considerable efforts to support the victim, including medical expenses,” reads the justification for the sentence.
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