Foreign Worker Death Case Closed Without Autopsy

The controversy is growing as the police concluded the case of a foreign worker in his 20s who died suddenly after finishing a night shift at a factory in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, without identifying the cause of death and without conducting an autopsy.

According to the Gimpo Police Station and the Gimpo Migrant Workers Support Center, a 24-year-old man from Myanmar, referred to as A, died around 9:06 PM on the 18th at a hospital in Gimpo.

A, who was in charge of plastic injection work, complained of a severe headache after finishing his night shift on the day of his death. He visited a local clinic in the morning to receive a nutritional injection, but when his symptoms did not improve by evening, he took a taxi to a large hospital and lost consciousness on the way, ultimately passing away.

Complained of Severe Headache

Despite the hospital recording A's cause of death as "unknown," the police concluded the case without an autopsy, citing a lack of criminal evidence based on their investigation of those around him.

A was a migrant worker who entered South Korea on an Employment Permit System (E-9) visa last year and was reported to have had no prior health issues. However, his body was cremated on the 26th without determining the exact cause of death.

The Gimpo Migrant Workers Support Center emphasized that the police should have conducted an autopsy to clarify the exact cause of A's death.

A representative from the Gimpo Migrant Workers Support Center stated, "I know that A worked in an environment without proper cooling facilities like air conditioning during the heatwave," and raised concerns that the police may have responded passively due to the fact that it was a foreign worker's death.

In response, a police official clarified, "We did not find any criminal elements and did not conduct an autopsy with the consent of the bereaved family," adding, "We handled the case according to procedures under the direction of the prosecution."

However, ongoing concerns about the poor working conditions for migrant workers and fairness in the handling of death cases suggest that the controversy is unlikely to settle easily.

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