업무상 재해로서 자살의 인정요건과 유형별 고찰

Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act(IACIA), the 2nd clause of Article 37 shall not admit an occupational accident, if the worker’s death is caused by his/her intentional action, or self-harm, but this clause recognizes the worker’s suicide as an occupational accident on the premise that the worker’s normal cognitive function is markedly declined. The enforcement decree of the IACIA, Article materializes that premise, which needs a state of mental disorder of the suicide. This article poses a question as to whether a worker’s suicide without a mental disorder is not admitted as an occupational accident. An overworking or an extreme stress in the workplace usually arouses the mental disorder as a pathological phenomenon, but it does not always cause psychotic trouble. The current act does not recognize the worker’s suicide without a mental disorder as an occupational accident and neither does the Supreme Court. A legal theory explains the reason the suicide without a mental disorder is not recognized as an occupational accident as the worker’s own free will eliminated the causal relation between the occupational duties and the accident. This paper asserts, however, that the worker’s own free will is caused by the occupational factors such as overworking, bullying, etc. So, a suicide without worker’s mental disorder also has to be recognized as an occupational accident if the worker decided the suicide owed to the factors in his/her occupational duties. To that end, the 2nd clause of Article 37 in the current act is amended, but, here and now, a suicide without the worker’s mental disorder could be admitted by interpreting the 2nd clause of Article 37 in the context that the worker’s intentional action, or self-harm in the paragraph is not caused by his/her occupational duties.