By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
A court said a gas station worker run over by an oil tanker truck while removing a cat hiding beneath the truck should be seen as an industrial accident, ordering the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to pay compensation to the family of the late 62-year-old.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled Tuesday that the cat was raised at the workplace for fun but that looking after the animal was apparently the duty of the gas station worker.
According to the court statement, the victim identified as Kim had raised an abandoned cat at the station since July 2006. On Aug. 10 that year, the cat crawled beneath a truck, which was on the verge of leaving the station after filling up.
Noticing it, Kim asked the truck driver to stop momentarily and then crept beneath the truck to remove the animal. But the driver then departed without warning, killing the worker.