Illegal foreign worker`s death, industrial accident: court

Judge Lim Young-Ho of the Seoul Administrative Court ruled Thursday that an illegal foreign worker's death from overworks here was an industrial accident. The compensation suit was filed by the wife of the victim, identified as Zaw Myint Oo of Myanmar, against the Korea Labor Welfare Corp.

In a statement on the ruling, the judge recognized that Zaw Myint Oo suffered from severe physical and mental fatigue from overwork and that he worked overtime almost every day just before he died. Lim said that the victim's death from heart trouble, apparently caused by overwork, amounts to a work-related calamity.

Lee Jung-Eun lightee@donga.com