Waste firm head gets suspended sentence over Filipino worker's death

A court has handed a suspended prison sentence to the head of a waste recycling company who failed to fulfill safety obligations in connection with the death of a Filipino worker crushed by a claw crane during waste unloading operations.

Judge Ji Chang-gu of Suwon District Court's Criminal Division 2 sentenced the head of a waste processing and recycling company, identified only as A, to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (industrial accident causing death) and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, according to legal sources Friday.

Crane operator B was also sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, on charges of occupational negligence causing death, while their company, C, was fined 5 million won ($3,360).

A and the others were indicted on charges of failing to fulfill their obligations to secure occupational safety and health in connection with a worker's death that occurred around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2024, at C's storage yard in Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.

The victim, a Filipino worker in his 50s identified as D, had been sorting unloaded waste paper when he climbed onto the rear footboard of a 2.4-ton claw crane operated by B to perform cleaning work. He died at the scene after his head became trapped between the rotating claw-shaft ladder and a toolbox.

Judge Ji said A, as the company's management executive, "failed to establish and implement a safety and health management system necessary for preventing industrial accidents." The judge further ruled that A "did not prepare a work plan or designate a work supervisor, and did not take the necessary measures to prevent the victim from entering an area with a risk of entrapment."

B's defense argued during the trial that "the noise during operations was loud and required intense concentration, making it impossible to notice the victim climbing beneath the operator's cab."

Judge Ji rejected that argument, saying that waste-sorting workers had often climbed onto vehicles during unloading operations, and B therefore had a duty of care to warn workers not to approach or to check the surroundings while working.

On sentencing, Judge Ji said the court took into account that a significant portion of the damages had been recovered through industrial accident insurance payments and condolence money from the company to the bereaved family, that the family did not wish to see the defendants punished, and that the defendants admitted to and showed remorse for their actions.