[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A worker died in an accident at a Samsung Electronics subcontractor in Gwangju, subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, prompting police and labor authorities to launch an investigation.
According to the Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju on the 8th, around 9:14 PM the previous day, A (mid-20s) was pinned under a steel coil weighing approximately 1.8 tons at DK, an electronics manufacturer located in the Pyeong-dong Industrial Complex, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.
A was transported to the hospital but passed away.
It was investigated that A was involved in the accident while moving a steel coil, a raw material part, to the workbench using a machine device called a hoist.
Due to unclear reasons, the steel coil moved in a chain reaction and eventually covered A.
The police plan to determine the exact circumstances of the accident and identify those responsible to consider applying charges of involuntary manslaughter due to negligence.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a work suspension order to DK that morning and began an investigation, examining whether there was a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act or the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, enforced since January this year, stipulates that if an industrial accident occurs at a workplace with 50 or more employees, the employer or management responsible who failed to fulfill prevention duties may face imprisonment of one year or more or a fine of up to 1 billion KRW.
Meanwhile, the company in question, with 50 or more regular employees, is a Samsung Electronics subcontractor producing air home appliances, household appliance parts, automotive exterior parts, and developing and manufacturing precision press molds.
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