Migrant workers killed in greenhouse appeal loss of state compensation

The bereaved family of a migrant worker who died in a greenhouse in a cold wave four years ago appealed, saying they could not accept the loss in the first trial of a national compensation lawsuit.

The bereaved family of the late Sokheng, a migrant worker from Cambodia, held a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court and condemned Sokhaeng, who entered the country under the government's employment permit system, forlornly died without even a single diagnosis of his disease in a greenhouse with poor heating.

At the same time, he said that the employment permit system is responsible for the entire system, such as selecting migrant workers and placing them in workplaces.

Mr. Sokhaeng, who has worked on a farm in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province since 2018, was found dead in a greenhouse he used to stay in in the winter of 2020 when he was 31.

The cause of death was found to be complications from cirrhosis, and the bereaved family filed a lawsuit for damages, saying the Korean government was responsible for not fulfilling its duty to guide and inspect the workplace.

However, last month, the first trial ruled against the plaintiff, saying that even if the official in charge did not promptly implement guidance and inspection of the workplace before Mr. Sokheng died, the cause-and-effect relationship with the death could not be recognized.