American mother loses lawsuit over son's bath house death

SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean court dismissed a suit by an American mother who blamed the South Korean government's lack of safety regulations for the death of her son, who drowned at a local public bath house, court officials said Wednesday.

Michael White, then 14, was found dead at a bath house in Daegu, about 300km
south of Seoul, around 11 p.m. in May last year. He was immediately moved to a
nearby hospital after being given first-aid but was declared dead after an hour,
according to a court document of the Daegu District Court obtained by Yonhap.
The mother, Stephannie White, sought damages of 456 million won (US$356,000) from
the South Korean government and the North Gyeongsang provincial government,
arguing that her son's death was attributed to South Korean laws which do not
make it mandatory for public bath houses to be prepared with emergency services.
The court dismissed the case, ruling that the plaintiff's claims "are groundless."
The court said the governments do have emergency medical networks available at
public facilities such as train stations and bus terminals. The exemption of
public bath houses from the requirement does not constitute evasion of
legislative accountability, it said.