What Is the Difference Between Assault and Industrial Accident?

The day Kim Dong-hae suffered an accident was the last day of May 2008. If Donghae looks back on his life in the future, he will probably divide it into before and after the accident based on that day.

Lucky Days in Korea

Mr. Donghae, a Chinese compatriot who was not good at Korean, was working as usual. However, the head of the group working with Donghae must have had a bad day. Donghae made a minor mistake while working, and the head of the work group spit out a sound that he did not know whether it was a work order or abusive language to Mr. Donghae depending on his mood. Donghae, who could not understand the English language, smiled mischievously as the weak usually do to the strong. The head of the work group, who judged Donghae’s laughter as a ridicule, slapped Donghae on the cheek with his own temper, and Donghae protested, ‘Why are you hitting me?’ in his native language. To Donghae, the head of the work group swung the spray gun he was holding in his hand. An iron spray gun struck Donghae’s left occipital region, and Donghae fell down bleeding and has lost his right nerve and native language since that day.
Twenty-eight-year-old Donghae had to give up a lot of what he had hoped for in his future life. For him, I thought that industrial accident insurance would be the least amount of protection in the life he had to live. However, the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service mercilessly shattered Donghae’s last hope with a single ‘Notice of Decision’ written ‘Disapproved’.
According to the Korea Labor Welfare Service, Donghae’s assault in the workplace was “caused by work orders during work, but the occurrence of violence and injury or illness goes beyond the social significance of quarrels due to non-compliance with work orders, and cannot be regarded as a work act between the workers above.” No, it was merely an arbitrary act between the above workers.” In a nutshell, the reason for the disapproval of the industrial accident was that the damage was too serious, beyond the extent of being beaten because it was hurtful.
It is perhaps understandable that the Labor Welfare Corporation reached such a conclusion.

The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, which overlooked the reality of migrant workers

, received an application for industrial accident care and conducted a visit to the workplace. The person in charge of the Corporation, who met the perpetrator, the head of the work group, the employer, and the witness, received a statement from the perpetrator, who was impatient due to the criminal prosecution. After that, witness statements were received in the presence of the perpetrator and the employer. The witness, who was a Chinese compatriot, had to make a statement in front of his superiors, the head of the work group and the employer.
After that, the person in charge of the industrial complex visited Donghae’s hospital, where it was impossible to make a statement, and investigated the victim. The mother, who was the protector, made a proxy statement, as the management said, ‘everything the management said is correct’.
As a result of the investigation, it was concluded that the work group leader assaulted him first, but it was concluded that it was a two-way assault that occurred when Mr. Donghae counterattacked the work group leader with a wooden stick.
In addition, the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service easily overlooked the fact that a significant number of migrant workers entering Korea are being assaulted for communication problems. The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service did not acknowledge that Mr. Dong-hae did not properly understand the work instructions of the work group leader and was assaulted as a result, and that such a problem is a common problem for migrant workers.
Legally speaking, migrant workers did not recognize that assaults in the workplace due to language problems were ‘the realization of risks inherent or usually accompanied by human relationships or jobs at work’.
The decision to disapproval of industrial accidents for Mr. Donghae is a natural result of the Korea Labor Welfare Service’s insolvency investigation and ignorance of migrant workers. Donghae Kim and his family are still fighting hard against the Korea Labor Welfare Corporation. No, we are fighting the prejudice and ignorance of migrant workers.