A South Korean freediving dive center owner has been found guilty of negligent homicide by the Seoul Central District Court.
The verdict was announced on May 7, and the defendant, only known as “A” in the proceedings, was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment.
The case centers around an incident in March 2023, when the victim, “B,” a man in his forties, arrived at the dive center alone and wanted to freedive. “A” informed him that it should be no problem since he would be able to dive with another guest already at the site, and a diving instructor would also be present.
For some reason, “A” subsequently allowed him to go freediving solo, but he failed to provide “B” with a freediving buddy. At this point, “B” began diving alone. After 10 minutes, another diver saw “B” suffer a blackout underwater. “B” was then recovered from the water and was still breathing. He was moved to hospital but died two months later from Septic shock.
The court found that “A” showed a blatant disregard for safety regulations and rules that stipulate that freedivers should always dive in pairs to prevent accidents.
In their findings, Judge Heo Seo-yoon at the Seoul Central District Court stated:
“Since A informed B that it was OK to visit alone, it is clear that A violated their duty of care. There is a significant causal relationship between B’s death and A’s negligence in their duties.”
