A worker in his 60s died in a fall accident at an apartment in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, prompting labor authorities to investigate whether there was a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
On the 14th, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that at 3:07 p.m. the previous day, worker A (63) fell while repairing the roof at a recycling collection site in an apartment complex in Yongin-si. A was transported to the hospital but ultimately died.
The accident occurred at a workplace affiliated with the security company Gukje Gyeongbo Industry, and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applies.
Enforced since January 27 last year, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act stipulates that if a serious accident such as a worker's death occurs at a workplace with 50 or more regular employees (or construction sites with a project amount of 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 halted work after confirming the accident details. They are currently investigating the cause of the accident and whether there was a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act at the relevant workplace.
Falls, along with entrapment and collisions, are the three major types of accidents and have the highest incidence rate. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's 2022 industrial accident fatality statistics, there were 268 deaths (262 cases) due to falls, 90 deaths (90 cases) due to entrapment, and 63 deaths (63 cases) due to collisions. These three major accident types account for 65.4% of all fatal industrial accidents, making them the most common causes of death.
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