A Korean court recently ruled that the family of a deceased worker can receive industrial disaster compensation since his death was caused by stress due to a warning of dismissal, a court official said Thursday.
According to the Yonhap News Agency, the man, surnamed Ji, who was employed at a fish processing company since 1998, collapsed at work and died from a cerebral hemorrhage in 2008. Court officials did not give further details of his identity. (WCxKit)
After his death, his family requested the state-run Korea Workers Compensation and Welfare Service to acknowledge the case as an industrial death and grant them medical expenses. They said he passed away from stress after his employer saw Ji arguing with his colleague and threatened to fire him.
Their claim was turned down. They then filed a petition with the Seoul Administrative Court, which deals with appeals against administrative decisions by the government.
The Seoul Administrative Court acknowledged the link between his disease and stress at work, considering the fact he died the day after he was warned.
It also noted medical staff's opinion that said his disease was caused by a sudden jump in blood pressure believed to be linked to emotional stress, not to deteriorating health due to a chronic disease. (WCxKit)
"Because his employer warned him that he would be fired if he kept having quarrels, he is believed to have come under much pressure and stress," the presiding judge Kim Do-kyun said in a ruling. "The court acknowledges a causal relationship between his disease and work."
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