KORAIL responsible for screen door death: court

A Seoul court said Korean Railroad Corp. should be held accountable for the death of a man after it failed to take necessary safety measures.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered KORAIL to pay 76 million won ($70,000) in damages to compensate the man’s family. The verdict is based on the fact that the death of the victim was linked to the absence of safety doors on the platform.

While making a phone call and texting, the man, who was intoxicated, slipped and fell onto the tracks at Yangsu Station in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, in December 2012. He was hit and killed by an incoming Mugunghwa train after fruitlessly attempting to climb back onto the platform.

The court said KORAIL was responsible for installing doors, an effective tool in preventing such accidents. Yangsu Station had only low safety bars.

About one in four metropolitan KORAIL stations has a platform fitted with safety doors, leaving 300 stations susceptible to similar accidents.

(sys@heraldcorp.com)