On the 6th, after a sudden heavy snowfall, citizens pass near the Sejong-ro intersection in Seoul in falling snow. Reporter Moon Jae-won

A civil servant at the Gangseo-gu Administrative Welfare Center in Seoul returned home after working 36 consecutive hours on emergency snow-removal duty, then collapsed from a brain hemorrhage and is in critical condition.

According to Kyunghyang Shinmun reporting compiled on the 13th, a civil servant identified only as A (31) with the Deungchon 2-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Gangseo-gu collapsed from a brain hemorrhage at around 9 p.m. on the 11th while exercising at a gym after finishing the emergency snow-removal duty. A is reportedly currently unconscious.

A began emergency snow-removal duty at 6 a.m. on the 10th, when the Seoul Metropolitan Government ordered reinforced staffing. He worked 27 hours straight until 9 a.m. the next day and, without going home, then worked regular hours until 6 p.m. that day. He then returned home, ate, and collapsed while exercising.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government initiated emergency snow-removal duty on the 10th after forecasts of less than 1㎝ of snow or rain across the city. According to the city's snow-removal response manual, Phase 1 is activated when less than 5㎝ is forecast, Phase 2 for 5㎝ or more (heavy snow advisory), and Phase 3 for 10㎝ or more (heavy snow warning).

A representative of the public employees' union said, "Even when actual snowfall is minimal, all personnel have to be mobilized under the emergency response system, which leads to overwork," adding, "We have asked the Seoul Metropolitan Government to correct this, and this accident was a foretold industrial accident."

A Seoul Metropolitan Government official said, "We issued an emergency call-up according to the snow-removal situation and emergency forecasts, and reporting for duty by each work team followed district standards," and added, "There was a forecast of less than 1 cm of snow from the morning that day, so we activated emergency duty." A Gangseo District Office official said, "There was no outdoor snow-removal work that day, and coming to work after an all-night shift was his own decision," adding, "Whether it was overwork should await medical judgment."