Bereaved family of Cambodian worker seeks industrial accident compensation

Migrant workers and monks express condolences to Nuon Sukkheng, a Cambodian migrant worker who was found dead in a greenhouse made of plastic sheeting on a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, Dec. 20, 2020, during a memorial ceremony at Beomnyeon Temple, central Seoul, on Feb. 7. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han

By Lee Hae-rin

The bereaved family of a Cambodian migrant worker who died here a year ago in poor living conditions, has filed a claim for industrial accident compensation.

A committee comprised of 26 civic groups and legal organizations formed upon the death of the individual, Nuon Sokkheng, commenced the compensation procedure on behalf of her family, who is in Cambodia, Monday, the first anniversary of her death.

Sokkheng, 31, was found dead in a greenhouse made of plastic sheeting on a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, where she had been living. The heating system was not working in the facility that day, despite a cold spell in the region. Although her direct cause of death was liver disease, advocacy groups said that the poor living conditions exacerbated her health, and that this case shows the dire living conditions many migrant workers face in Korea.

The committee submitted the results of the autopsy along with a doctor's written statement showing the link between Sokkheng's death and her insufficient living conditions, to the Uijeongbu branch of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service.

The committee accused the owner of the farm of providing substandard housing, and he was later fined for violating the Labor Standards Act.

In September of this year, the committee found that no progress had been made in Sokkheng's case for industrial accident compensation and took charge of the application process on the family's behalf.

"The bereaved family initially wanted to apply for the compensation via the Cambodian embassy in Korea," Choi Jung-kyu, a lawyer in charge of the committee, told the Korea Times, Monday.

"However, no progress had been made after almost a year following the death. The current system requires the victim or the bereaved family to apply for the compensation themselves, so the committee told the family it would provide free legal support for the case," Choi said.

"It is very difficult for the bereaved families of migrant workers, who live abroad, to come to Korea and apply for industrial accident compensation themselves, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is even more difficult for every death of a migrant to get a committee like this (to work on the family's behalf)," Choi said.

According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment, 94 migrant workers died from industrial accidents in 2020, accounting for 10.7 percent of all such deaths. Furthermore, there could be more, similar deaths that remain undocumented and unknown, according to Choi.

"The autopsy for the body was not carried out until Dec. 23 of last year, three days after Sokkheng's death. Unless there is clear evidence of murder, embassies in Korea rarely request the autopsy of a migrant worker who died suddenly," Choi said. "Sokkheng's case also could have been left unsolved as one of many sudden deaths of migrant workers here, without even an autopsy."

Submitting the claim, the committee urged ― in an official statement ― the Korean government to proceed promptly with Sokkheng's case, so that it can be recognized as an industrial accident. "Also, it must make every effort not to discriminate against migrant workers in compensation claims, by providing enough information on the government policies and allowing others to apply on behalf of the victims, instead of obligating the bereaved families to claim the compensation themselves."

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