Is Love the Culprit? Is Work Innocent?... Strange Court Ruling on Industrial Accident

[Financial News] A court has ruled that being murdered by an ex-lover who is a colleague on the way to work cannot be considered an occupational accident.
According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Administrative Court's Administrative Division 3 (Presiding Judge Choi Su-jin) recently ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the family of murder victim A against the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to cancel the decision not to pay survivors' benefits and funeral expenses.
In July 2023, A was stabbed to death by B, a former lover and colleague, on the way to work as an insurance planner. The family claimed, "The incident was not just a conflict between lovers, but was due to continuous work stress and the company's lukewarm response stemming from hierarchical relationships at work," and requested it be recognized as an occupational accident.
However, when the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service refused payment, stating, "The crime was due to a private relationship between the perpetrator and the victim, and there is no causal link to work even if it occurred on the way to work," the family filed a lawsuit. 
The court's judgment was the same. The court cited a Supreme Court precedent, stating, "Even if an accident occurs during commuting, it is difficult to see it as an occupational accident if it is due to a private motive." It added, "There is no specific circumstance that confirms A had a work-related grudge against the perpetrator," denying work-related causality.
The court further explained, "It is reasonable to see the incident as caused by private emotions such as anger towards a former romantic partner," and "There is no revealed causal relationship due to work-related conflicts or workplace harassment."

425_sama@fnnews.com Choi Seung-han Reporter