Elevator maintenance firm found guilty after faulty inspection leads to death of woman in her 80s

The head of an elevator maintenance company and two of its inspectors have been convicted in connection with the death of a resident in her 80s, after they failed to properly check the brakes on an aging elevator. The court found that their negligence in verifying the brake system directly caused the fatal accident.

Judge Lee Hwan-gi of the Busan District Court's Western Branch, presiding over Criminal Division 5, sentenced the company's CEO, identified only as A, to a fine of 5 million won ($3,470) on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, according to Yonhap. Two inspectors from the same company, identified as B and C, each received a six-month prison term suspended for two years.

A's company had been under contract since March 2023 to conduct self-inspections and maintenance on elevators at an apartment complex in Buk-gu, Busan.

On Dec. 9, 2024, an 84-year-old woman attempting to board an elevator at the complex fell and was killed when the elevator suddenly moved upward.

Prosecutors indicted the defendants on the grounds that they had failed to fulfill their duty of care — including properly verifying the operating condition of the elevator's brakes — to ensure user safety.

The elevator involved in the accident was installed in 2002 and had been ordered to undergo on-site corrective action roughly four months before the incident due to a faulty brake plunger and poor overall condition.

However, during an inspection conducted about a month before the accident, the defendants marked the inspection report as "satisfactory" without thoroughly checking the brake stopping distance or the brake spring.

The court determined that the brake spring length had been set at a value different from the manufacturer's specification, and that the inspectors had failed to adjust it to match the elevator's load capacity and speed. As a result, the brake could not hold the elevator in place, and the elevator rose while the doors were open.

"The defendants' professional negligence is established, as is the causal link between that negligence and the accident," the court said. "The outcome — the victim's death — is a grave consequence, and their responsibility is not light."

The court said it took into account that the defendants had reached a settlement with the victim's family, who no longer sought punishment, and that none of the defendants had prior convictions for similar offenses or crimes carrying a penalty heavier than a fine.