"Dead of traffic lights." Delivery man...Is it an occupational accident?

[Anchor]
If a delivery person dies due to a signal violation while on delivery, can it be recognized as a work accident?

The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service did not admit that the accident was caused by a criminal act, but how the court judged it and reporter Kwon Jun-su covered it.

[Reporter]
In June 2021, when the demand for delivery was high due to COVID-19, a Chinese restaurant delivery man A was delivering on a motorcycle.

A red light came on at the intersection, but A, who was driving as he/she saw that there was no vehicle passing by, died when he/she collided with a taxi coming in from next to him/her.

A's bereaved family claimed compensation for an occupational accident, but the Korea Labor Welfare Corporation refused, saying it was an accident due to a signal violation.

is a 'criminal act' that is not recognized as an occupational accident.

After that, A's bereaved family filed a lawsuit, and the first trial court ruled in favor of the bereaved family.

given the level of legal punishment,

Since the violation of the signal is not a serious crime and does not cause great damage to others,
The
signal violation is not a fault to the extent that it is not recognized as a professional accident.

The court also explained that it considered the nature of work requiring fast delivery and the situation in which it was difficult to confirm the taxi coming in because there were many vehicles waiting for a left turn, such as tall trucks.

However, not all traffic light violations can be recognized as occupational accidents.

[Cho Jong-in / Lawyers specializing in traffic accidents] It is a clear violation of the signal with intent. In other words, if it now seems to be illegal and the driving behavior is highly likely to be criticized, it does not protect against industrial accidents.]

The same applies to criminal acts with great personal negligence, such as drinking and unlicensed,
In this case, even if an accident occurred during work such as delivery or delivery, it is difficult to be recognized as an industrial accident.

I'm YTN Kwon Junsu.