"Lying on Styrofoam on a One-Pyeong Floor"... This Was How the 70-Year-Old Security Guard Rested Alone

Security Guard in His 70s Found in Cardiac Arrest at Apartment Security Office
Labor Groups Condemn "Structural Murder" for Overlooking Poor Break Facilities
Six Guards Working 24-Hour Shifts in Teams of Three... Call for Comprehensive Investiga

A security guard in his 70s was found dead alone at an apartment complex in Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, amid claims that he had been resting by laying Styrofoam on the floor of a narrow security office without any legally required break facilities.

The narrow security office floor where the deceased worked is covered with Styrofoam and blankets. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to Yonhap News on the 28th, the Seosan-Taean Committee of the Sejong Chungnam Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the "Labor and Civic Organizations for Resolving the Death of the Seosan Security Worker" held a press conference at Seosan City Hall on the same day. They stated, "Upon inspecting the security office where the deceased worked, we found that there was Styrofoam and blankets laid on the floor behind the desk in a space of just about 3.3 square meters."

Labor organizations argued that, despite a revision to the Industrial Safety and Health Act in August 2023 that legally guarantees the right to use break facilities for apartment security guards, cleaners, and sanitation workers, the apartment where the deceased worked did not have an adequate break room.

They said, "The break time guaranteed by law was in reality a standby shift and unpaid extended labor, as the guard was confined to the cramped security office made entirely of glass." They further criticized, "His death was the result of poor break room conditions, deceptive break times, and the tacit approval of Seosan City and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, constituting structural murder."

The deceased was found in cardiac arrest in the security office at around 6:19 a.m. on the 26th and was transported to the hospital, but ultimately passed away. According to the organizations, there are currently six security guards at the apartment, working in two teams of three on 24-hour shifts. At one point, there were 16 guards working in two shifts of eight, but the number has reportedly continued to decrease.

The Seosan-Taean Committee of the Sejong Chungnam Headquarters of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and labor civic organizations held a joint press conference on the 28th at the Seosan City Hall briefing room regarding the death of a security guard. Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Seosan-Taean Committee

The Seosan-Taean Committee of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions stated that the apartment complex had been selected to have a break room installed by the end of 2024, but the project was canceled. When the committee was operating the Non-Regular Workers Support Center, it had installed break rooms for security workers in two apartment complexes each year. However, after Seosan City began directly operating the center last year, the project was abandoned.

At the press conference, participants held placards reading, "Strict punishment for failure to install break rooms in apartment buildings," voicing their protest. They defined this incident not as an issue specific to a single apartment, but as a structural problem resulting from a lack of labor rights protection. They called on the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Seosan City to conduct a comprehensive survey on the employment contracts and break room conditions for security workers in local apartment complexes.

Meanwhile, the apartment management company expressed condolences for the deceased in an interview with Yonhap News and explained, "We had arranged for a space that used to be a security post on the right side of the main gate to be used as a break room for the security guards." They added, "The break room is equipped with a bed, bedding, a restroom, and air conditioning." Furthermore, they stated, "Break times were guaranteed from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., and one hour each for lunch and dinner during the day." However, they explained, "The deceased appears to have rested in the security office, not in the distant break room, as he worked at the far end of the complex opposite the break room."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.