Unsettling Notice... Temporary Shower Leads to Fatal Electrocution

[Anchor]

A man in his 20s working at an apartment management office in Incheon was recently found dead alone in the machine room. He is presumed to have been electrocuted while taking a shower. The police have launched an investigation to determine whether the management ignored signs of electrical leakage.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

This is a photo taken inside the machine room of an apartment complex in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.

Wires are dangling among various machinery and pipes, and pedestals are placed under certain home appliances such as washing machines, seemingly out of concern for electrical leakage.

In the middle of the machine room, a showerhead and a single wooden platform sit isolated.

This is the temporary shower area inside the apartment machine room where Mr. A, a man in his 20s, was found dead on the 23rd.

Synthesizing preliminary autopsy opinions from the National Forensic Service and other findings, the police presume that Mr. A was electrocuted while showering.

The door to the machine room where the accident occurred is tightly shut, and a notice advising against the use of the shower facilities is posted on it.

It was confirmed that at the time of the accident, a notice even instructed people to check for electrical leakage before using water—a detail suggesting that previous electrical leakage accidents had occurred or that the risk of electrical leakage damage was at least known.

However, no preventive measures were taken, and a worker in his 20s who worked 24-hour shifts every other day met a tragic end.

[Lee Jin-young / Bereaved Family Member: He was going to work until the end of this year and quit the management office, planning to find a company even if it meant lowering his standards a bit. As parents, our hearts are truly broken and torn to pieces.]

The apartment management office explained to SBS, "It appears that employees arbitrarily built the shower room during boiler construction back in 2021." Meanwhile, the subcontracting company managing personnel including Mr. A avoided giving an answer, stating, "We have nothing to say."

Occupational safety and health standards stipulate that employers must install grounding to prevent the risk of electric shock caused by electrical leakage.

[Kim Eui-taek / Attorney for the Bereaved Family: We believe that negligence in failing to fulfill obligations regarding measures against electric shock could constitute professional negligence resulting in death.]

If the final autopsy results from the National Forensic Service confirm electrocution as the cause of death, the police plan to review charges of professional negligence resulting in death against the apartment management and the subcontracting company, depending on the circumstances of the accident.

(Video Reporter: Choi Dae-woong | Video Editor: Kim Yoon-sung | Designer: Lee Jong-jung, Han Heung-soo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.