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Today (10th) is the third anniversary of the late 25-year-old non-regular worker Kim Yong-gyun who got caught in a conveyor belt at the Taean Thermal Power Plant in South Chungcheong Province.

After the unfortunate fatal accident, the Occupational Safety and Health Act was completely revised to strengthen on-site safety, and the Severe Accident Punishment Act was enacted to strengthen criminal punishment for business owners.

However, the first trial to determine responsibility for Kim Yong-gyun's accident is still ongoing.

The sentencing results will be announced early next year, and in this regard, our reporters have analyzed the first trial judgments and new sentencing standards for all industrial accident deaths that have been published this year.



Shin Jeong-eun is a reporter.



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Kim Yong-gyun, a 25-year-old non-regular worker, was instructed to clean up coal residues stuck in every corner of his belt.



It was Kim's last appearance to break through the darkness and head to the conveyor belt.




As the poor working environment was revealed through a video filmed by Mr. Kim himself before his death, voices calling for strict responsibility for the unfortunate death have risen.



As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that there were no safety devices or safety training, and the subcontractor's request to work as a two-person team in case of an emergency was rejected several times.



However, it took 20 months for the prosecution to hand over the main contractor Korea Western Power, a subcontractor corporation, and 14 people involved to trial.



The trial of the first trial is still in progress three years after the incident occurred as the defendant maintained that there was no problem with the on-site safety measures.



The pain of the bereaved family grew as much as that time.



[Kim Mi-sook / late Kim Yong-gyun's mother: It seems that I am having an unbelievably long nightmare, and my heart is always dark and miserable. As I watched the nine trials go on, I could see how poorly our country had been doing.] The



bereaved family is also concerned about the outcome of the first trial, scheduled for January next year.



This is because, until now, the results of the trial in industrial accident death cases have been limited in punishment.



[The worker who was looking for the water pipe leak work was found drowning in the water under the water pipe.] A



subcontractor in his 60s who was repaired under the road in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon last May, when water overflowed into the pipe and suffered a catastrophe. Worker A.



As a result of the first trial, the person in charge of safety measures was suspended of execution, and the prime contractor and subcontractor were each fined 5 million won.



SBS reporters analyzed 131 cases in which a worker died as a result of an industrial accident that was sentenced to the first trial in courts across the country this year, including this case.



A total of 133 people died, either by drowning, falling, being crushed, or being hit, and unfortunately lost their lives for various reasons.



There were 332 individuals and corporations who were brought to the courts as defendants, but all but one received probation.



There is only one year in prison without probation because another worker died at the same workplace a year ago.



Even though 62% of accidents resulted in death due to fines, the fine amounted to only 6.54 million won on average.



The average sentence sentenced with probation was less than 8 months.



Another variable is that the sentencing standard, which the court raised the level of punishment, does not apply to Kim Yong-gyun's case three years ago.



In March, the Supreme Court Sentencing Committee raised the level of punishment for industrial accident deaths from 6 to 18 months to a maximum of 30 months.



However, this standard applies to cases indicted by the prosecution after July of this year.



However, the fact that the standard for sentencing has been strengthened due to increased awareness of industrial accident deaths following the Kim case is expected to affect the judgment of the court.



(Video coverage: Chan-soo Lee, video editing: Ki-duk Park, CG: Ah-reum Lee)