A Man in His 30s Falls to Death at Sinansan Line Subway Construction Site

Subjects Covered by the Serious Accident Punishment Act

A man in his 30s working in the construction area of the Sinansan Line subway fell and died in an accident. The labor authorities have begun investigating whether the company violated the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 22nd, at around 2:15 p.m. that day, Mr. A (37), who was working at the Hakon Station construction site in the Sinansan Line subway 5-1 construction area in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, died. It is known that Mr. A fell 19 meters down into an underground utility tunnel while performing crane wire maintenance work.

The construction site where the accident occurred is subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. This law mandates that if a serious accident such as a death occurs at a workplace with 50 or more regular employees (or construction projects worth 5 billion KRW or more), the employer or management responsible for failing to fulfill accident prevention duties shall be punished with imprisonment of one year or more, or a fine of up to 1 billion KRW.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating the exact cause of the accident and whether the company violated the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act.