Jeon Yeong-jin (center) is shown in a photograph provided by his family. (Family of Jeon Yeong-jin)

The death of Jeon Yeongjin, 25, who took his own life last year after experiencing severe bullying at his workplace, has been ruled an "occupational accident" by the state authority on workers' welfare.

Jeon's bereaved family members told local media Sunday that the Seoul committee of the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service recently decided that his death should be considered an occupational accident. Defined in Article 5-1 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, the term refers to any injury, disease or death of a worker caused by an occupational reason.

This decision allows Jeon’s family to seek compensation for the young man’s death.

Jeon passed away on May 23, 2023 after being subjected to severe abuse by his former boss, 41, who is on trial for threatening and assaulting the victim. Jeon's family told the appellate court in May that the defendant never apologized for the victim's death and that he "glared at the victim's family as if ready to kill" them when the district court handed down the sentence.

Chuncheon District Court on Sept. 5 upheld the lower court's sentence of 2 years and 6 months in prison for Jeon's former boss, saying, "It is sufficient to believe that the defendant's crimes substantially affected the victim's death."

The investigation found that Jeon had suffered daily abuse since joining the company -- a car parts company with fewer than five employees and his first job -- in August 2021. His older brother, Jeon Yeong-ho, found recordings in the victim's phone of conversations with his boss that included profanity, threats of violence and death.

The recordings showed that just five days before Jeon's death, the former boss told him he would "chase down your mom and dad and kill them all," which was followed a day later by a message of, "I will kill you if you call me just one more time."

Police investigation found evidence of 86 accounts of verbal abuse, 16 threats and four incidents of physical assault -- all confirmed via recorded messages and surveillance footage. Some 700 conversations recorded on the victim's phone indicated that the abuse persisted throughout the two years he worked at the company.

"The defendant assaulted the victim as his superior multiple times, and repeatedly threatened and verbally abused him. The victim suffered almost every day and died at a young age. This is the most extreme case of the workplace bullying," Chuncheon District Court said in its initial ruling.

The victim's brother, Jeon Yeong-ho, expressed his wish that his brother's case would lead to stronger punishment for workplace bullying, advising victims of similar abuse to seek help and legal action.

* If you’re thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s helpline at 109, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.