Apartment building elevator malfunction leads to leg amputation and death...Manager given suspended sentence (South Korea)

In connection with an accident in which a resident's leg was amputated and he died due to an elevator malfunction at an apartment building in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, a person related to an elevator maintenance and repair company filed suit in the first instance.
The sentence was suspended. According to the Korean legal community on the 6th, the Seoul Northern District Court granted a suspended sentence to Defendant A, the president of an elevator maintenance and repair company, who was indicted on charges of professional negligence resulting in death on the 26th of last month.
The court sentenced Defendant A (66) and employee B (31) to 10 months in prison with two years of probation. Defendant A and B were the elevator managers of the apartment building where the accident occurred and were responsible for monthly safety inspections.
The defendants were put on trial in November last year on charges of neglecting their duties and inducing damage to human life. The investigation revealed that, at the time of the accident, the ground wire of the door switch was broken, but Defendant A and Defendant B
The elevator was left unattended, and it was confirmed that the elevator was operating even with the elevator doors open. In February of last year, the victim C, who was in this elevator, entered the elevator with the doors open.
As a result of the rise in the temperature, his left leg became trapped between the wall and the floor, and had to be amputated. Although Mr. C was immediately taken to the hospital, he died in May of the same year from complications including pneumonia during treatment.
The court ruled that the defendants had a duty of professional care to prevent the accident from occurring, and that the elevator doors were left open.
"Despite the fact that there was a considerable concern that the prices would rise or fall without recognizing this and failing to check this and taking any measures, professional negligence can be recognized."
However, the court stated, "The defendants admitted to committing this crime and are remorseful for their crimes, and Defendant A paid a considerable amount of money to the surviving family and reached a settlement, among other favorable circumstances.
"We took into consideration the following points," he said, explaining the reason for the sentence.