South Korean's death after three consecutive company drinking sessions ruled work-related
SEOUL: A South Korean court has ruled that the death of a worker following three consecutive company-related drinking sessions constitutes a work-related death, local media reported on Aug 3.
The Seoul Administrative Court recently ruled in favour of the bereaved family of a worker who died from acute alcohol intoxication after attending consecutive company gatherings.
The family had filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's decision to deny survivor benefits and funeral expenses.
The worker, who was in charge of sales management, was found dead in his car in the parking lot of his home at dawn on July 2, 2022. An autopsy determined the cause of death was acute alcohol intoxication from consuming a large amount of alcohol over a short period.
It was confirmed that he drank on three consecutive nights from June 29 to July 1 at company events. On June 29, he attended a dinner with a client. The following day, he joined a gathering organised by a senior executive to promote camaraderie among employees.
On July 1, he attended a dinner welcoming two newly hired foreign workers assigned to an overseas office. That night's expenses were more than one million won (US$720), exceeding typical company spending, and the participants split the cost.
The key legal issue was whether the final gathering constituted a work-related event. The workers' compensation agency argued that it was not an official company event and that the sharing of costs by the participants indicated it was a private occasion.
However, the court ruled otherwise, citing the nature of the relationship between the worker and the foreign hires, which required close cooperation. The court also noted that the worker was scheduled for a six-month overseas assignment and needed support from the newcomers.
'The drinking session likely had a strong work-related context, as it was held with the foreign workers to welcome his upcoming assignment abroad,' the ruling stated. 'It would have been difficult for him to refuse drinks under the circumstances, and the cost of one million won was excessive for a purely personal gathering.' - The Korea Herald/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
8 minutes ago
- The Star
What is judicial mercy, and how does it apply to Ong Beng Seng's case?
Both the defence and the prosecution noted that a fine in lieu of jail would be appropriate as Ong Beng Seng has advanced multiple myeloma, which is an incurable cancer. - ST/ANN SINGAPORE: Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng pleaded guilty to one count of abetting the obstruction of justice on Aug 4. Both the defence and the prosecution noted that a fine in lieu of jail would be appropriate as he has advanced multiple myeloma, which is an incurable cancer. His lawyers urged the court to exercise judicial mercy and impose a fine with no prison time. The prosecution did not object to this, noting that even if the court did not exercise judicial mercy, there was basis for it to consider Ong's ill-health as a mitigating factor for a significant reduction of sentence. ALSO READ: Singapore-based Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng pleads guilty to abetting obstruction of justice in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran What is judicial mercy? Judicial mercy is the discretionary power of Singapore's courts to give a more lenient sentence because of exceptional mitigating circumstances. It has a high threshold, and so far has been exercised in only two types of situations. The first is where the offender is suffering from terminal illness. The second is where the offender is so ill that jail time would carry a high risk of endangering his or her life. The High Court previously said that when judicial mercy is exercised, the central consideration by the court is not the culpability of the offender. Instead, the sentence will be based on humanitarian considerations. These must outweigh public interests in punishing the offender for his crime. This is distinctly different from when ill-health is considered as a mitigating factor. The High Court said judicial mercy is to be invoked only sparingly. Previous cases where it was invoked saw no imprisonment, or a nominal period of imprisonment, or the statutory minimum. Difference between judicial mercy and ill-health as mitigating factor Judicial mercy has a higher threshold than ill-health as a mitigating factor. When judicial mercy is invoked, the main consideration for sentencing becomes one of humanity. When the courts pass sentences with ill-health considered as a mitigating factor, the central consideration is still the public interest in punishing one for the offence committed. The punishment would remain proportional to the offender's culpability, but may be reduced at the discretion of the court. The courts have exercised judicial mercy in cases where the offender has not long left to live or when prison time would pose a significant risk to the offender's life. Cancer-stricken woman In 2020, the court fined a woman S$5,000 (US$3,885) instead of jailing her for a week for contempt of court. The mother of two had breached court orders relating to divorce proceedings with her former husband. She had turned her children on him and harmed his reputation. The court granted judicial mercy, noting that the woman had stage 4 breast cancer, was using a wheelchair and weighed only 30kg. Six months to live In 2018, a man who managed a coffee shop had a three-week prison sentence cut to a S$250 fine after he was diagnosed with cancer and given six months to live. Lam Kim Heng, then 68, had tried to bribe a building inspection officer with a pack of cigarettes. But three weeks after sentencing, he found out he had acute myeloid leukaemia. The High Court granted judicial mercy when it heard his appeal about three months after the diagnosis. Former Tangs chairman's kidney scandal In 2008, then Tangs chairman Tang Wee Sung was jailed for a day and fined S$17,000 for attempting to buy a kidney. He suffered from multiple medical conditions, including end-stage renal disease. Tang had to undergo dialysis six days a week, and had extremely detailed checks, injections and medication daily. The court granted him judicial mercy. Tang underwent a kidney transplant in 2009 and died in 2022. Molester with nose cancer In 2006, a convicted molester was granted judicial mercy on appeal and had his original sentence of four months' jail and three strokes of the cane replaced with a S$5,000 fine. Chng Yew Chin, then 43, had molested his maid. But he appealed and a doctor told the court he could not be cured and had little time left. The court granted him judicial mercy, saying his cancer was a far harsher sentence that would kill him in the near future. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
Singapore-based Malaysian billionaire Ong Beng Seng pleads guilty to abetting obstruction of justice in case linked to ex-minister Iswaran
SINGAPORE: Property tycoon Ong Beng Seng on Aug 4 pleaded guilty to abetment of obstruction of justice in a case related to former transport minister S. Iswaran. Appearing in the court dock wearing a mask with a scarf around his neck, Ong, 79, admitted to abetting the obstruction of justice relating to a December 2022 trip to Qatar which Iswaran accepted Ong's invitation for. A second charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts will be taken into consideration for sentencing. Ong arrived at around 9am at the State Courts with his lawyers flanked by his security team. The hearing began at around 10.15am, instead of 9.30am, after two fire alarms went off. The first one was triggered the moment Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng walked into the room. After a delay of almost an hour, the statement of facts detailing Ong's offences were read out by the prosecution in a packed courtroom. Addressing the court on Ong's abetment of obstruction of justice offence, the prosecuting team said Ong asked Iswaran in December 2022 if the former minister would like to join Ong on a trip to Qatar. Ong told Iswaran he would be his guest and travelling on his private jet. The businessman added he would take care of all of Iswaran's expenses for the trip, including his hotel accommodation. Iswaran accepted Ong's offer and applied for urgent personal leave to go for the trip. On Dec 10, 2022, Iswaran travelled to Doha, Qatar, on Ong's private jet, with the flight valued at around US$7,700 (S$10,410). Upon reaching Doha, Iswaran checked into the Four Seasons Hotel, which cost S$4,737.63 for a one-night stay. The prosecution said Iswaran did not pay for his flight to Doha or hotel accommodation, and that the hotel accommodation was paid for by Singapore GP on the instructions of Ong. After one night in Doha, Iswaran returned to Singapore on a business class flight that was valued at S$5,700, which Singapore GP also paid for. The prosecution said: 'Iswaran did not declare to the Government of Singapore that he had obtained the outbound flight on the accused's private jet, the hotel accommodation at the Four Seasons Hotel Doha, or the Doha-SG Flight ticket from the accused.' In May 2023, while the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was investigating a separate matter relating to Ong's associates, it came across the flight manifest of the outbound flight on Ong's private jet which Iswaran took to Doha. On May 18, Ong was informed by his associates that CPIB had seized the flight manifest which had details of the Doha trip. Ong then spoke to Iswaran over the phone and told him the flight manifest had been seized by CPIB. Iswaran then asked Ong to have Singapore GP bill him for expenses relating to the Doha trip, including the flight to Singapore on Dec 11, 2022. Ong agreed and had Singapore GP director Mok Chee Liang to arrange for the payment, and told Mok to keep proper records of this. On May 24, 2023, Mok emailed Iswaran's personal assistant with an invoice for the flight from Doha to Singapore. Iswaran then issued a cheque for S$5,700 to Singapore GP, which the prosecution said had a tendency to obstruct the course of justice, as it made it less likely that he would be investigated by CPIB in relation to the Doha trip. The prosecution said Ong also knew that Iswaran's act of making payment for the flight from Doha to Singapore was likely to obstruct the course of justice. On Oct 3, 2024, the former Cabinet minister was handed a jail term of 12 months after he pleaded guilty to five charges, including four for obtaining valuable items as a public servant. Iswaran's fifth charge was for obstructing the course of justice by making payment of s$5,700 for the business-class flight he had taken from Doha to Singapore in 2022 at Ong's expense. Ong's guilty plea on Aug 4 came after multiple pre-trial conferences and court adjournments since he was charged on Oct 4, 2024. Ong was first set to plead guilty on April 2, 2025, but this was postponed after his lawyers asked for an extension to obtain his medical report. The businessman has multiple myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer affecting the bone marrow predominantly and is characterised by excessive multiplication of a type of white blood cells called plasma cells. During earlier proceedings, he was allowed to go abroad for medical and work purposes. A court date was then set for him to plead guilty on July 3. But this was rescheduled one day before the hearing as the prosecution and defence needed more time to file further submissions on sentencing. Those found guilty of the abetment of obstruction of justice can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both. - The Straits Times/ANN
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Singapore's GIC to take 25pct stake in Spanish broadband venture, FT reports
BENGALURU: Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC is set to take a 25 per cent stake in a fibre optic broadband venture between MasOrange and Vodafone Spain, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. GIC's investment in the company will be announced as soon as Monday, the report said, adding that its stake would be worth about 1.4 billion euros (US$1.6 billion). The deal comes after Zegona Communications unit Vodafone Spain agreed in January to create the new fibre network company in Spain with MasOrange, with London-listed Zegona expected to hold 10 per cent of the venture. The parties at the time of the announcement of the deal were also looking for an investor for the new venture who was expected to hold 40 per cent of the business. Reuters could not immediately verify the FT report. GIC, Vodafone Spain, Zegona and MasOrange did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Zegona acquired Vodafone Spain in a 5 billion euro deal last year, as part of Vodafone Group's exit from its Spanish operations.
