A Man Died After His Neck Was Pinned Under a 70-Kilogram Bench Press and He Was Left Unattended for 25 Minutes... Court Says Gym Bears No Criminal Liability

[Financial News] In connection with the death of a gym member who was left with his neck pinned under a barbell while doing bench press exercises, the court at first instance acquitted the gym owner and a trainer.
According to the legal community on the 19th, Criminal Division 3, Single Judge at the Busan District Court, Western Branch, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Su-hong, found A, the owner of a gym in Busan, and trainer B not guilty of occupational negligence resulting in death.
The accident occurred around 1 p.m. on December 20, 2024. C, a man in his 40s, was working out alone on the third floor of the gym with a bench press weighing about 70 kilograms when he could not handle the weight and his neck was pinned under the barbell.
C was left in that condition for about 25 minutes. He was later taken to a hospital and treated, but died a week after the accident from hypoxic brain injury.
Prosecutors held the gym responsible for poor management and violations of the law. Under the Act on the Establishment and Operation of Sports Facilities, gyms above a certain size must have a sports instructor on duty, and prosecutors argued that A violated this requirement. They also said trainer B failed to fulfill the duty to monitor users and respond to emergencies.
However, the trial court ruled that they could not be held criminally liable. While it acknowledged the violation of failing to assign a sports instructor, the court said it was difficult to establish causation, meaning it could not be concluded that the accident would have been prevented even if an instructor had been present.
The court stated, "Unlike swimming pools and other places where danger is always present, there is no basis to say that trainers or others at a gym, which can be considered relatively low-risk, have a duty to repeatedly check for accidents by users through CCTV." It added, "Given that suffocation can lead to death if it lasts only about five minutes, it cannot be said with certainty that the victim would not have died even if the defendants had recognized the situation at the time."
Prosecutors appealed the ruling on the 13th.
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