By Lee Kyung-min
A district court has ordered the Korean government to pay 360 million won ($304,000) in compensation to a man who sustained permanent paralysis below the waist while working at a snack bar on a United States Forces Korea (USFK) military base in Gyeonggi Province.
According to the Seoul Central District Court, Monday, the man, surnamed Gil, had worked at the base since 1994. In July 2010, the snack bar manager, Kim, ordered him to move heavy goods from a truck using a piece of equipment.
While moving the goods, some items fell and hit Gil hard in the neck and back. Due to the accident, his spinal cord was permanently damaged and he was paralyzed from the waist down.
Gil filed a suit against the government seeking 700 million won in compensation, saying that according to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the government was liable for Kim’s negligent supervision.
The court ruled that the manager was indeed negligent of duty, and should have taken measures to prevent the goods from falling, such as having more workers for the unloading work.
“The heavy objects were dangerous enough to pose a risk to workers. Kim failed to complete his duty as a supervisor,” the court said in its ruling.
According to the SOFA, the Korean government is responsible for compensating Gil for his injuries because Kim was hired by the USFK, the court said.
But it said that Gil was also partially responsible. “He should have taken more caution for his own safety while doing this dangerous task. So we recognize that the government is 75 percent responsible for the accident,” it said.
The court set total compensation at 690 million won, taking into account his prospective salary if he had continued working until he was 60 years old, as well as payment to his caretaker and the cost of his electronic wheelchair. As the ruling said that the government was liable for 75 percent, or 450 million won, the court subtracted allowances he had already received from the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, setting final compensation from the government at 360 million won.