The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the acquittal of the head of a main contractor for the accidental death of Kim Yong-gyun at Taean Thermal Power Plant in South Chungcheong Province in 2018.

The top court confirmed the appellate court's acquittal of Kim Byung-sook, former head of Korea Western Power Company, on charges of violating the Occupational Safety And Health Act and occupational and gross negligence causing death in the incident involving the irregular worker.

The court said it has found no legal misinterpretation in the lower court’s ruling regarding the obligation to take safety measures nor with causality related to violations of the duty to take caution in the workplace or the Occupational Safety And Health Act.

Kim was found dead after getting caught in a conveyor belt used to transport coal while working the night shift in the early hours of December 11, 2018.

In August 2020, prosecutors indicted the main contractor, the subcontractor and 14 executives for criminal liability, but Kim was acquitted by both the first and appeals court, citing a limited role as the head of the contracting company in setting and approving safety guidelines.

The top court, meanwhile, confirmed guilty verdicts without a prison term for ten of the 14 executives as well as the subcontracting company for causing the death by failing to fulfill the duty to take caution and comply with safety measures under the Occupational Safety And Health Act.

Kim's death was met with public calls to increase management's responsibility for workplace accidents, which led to enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.