Daehung R&T CEO, Prosecutors Also Submit Appeal Document
Labor groups have condemned the company representatives of Duseong Industrial and others after they recently filed appeals following suspended sentences in the first trial for causing multiple workers to be poisoned by using cleaning agents containing toxic substances.
According to the legal and labor sectors in Gyeongnam on the 13th, it was reported that on the 10th, Duseong Industrial CEO Mr. A and Daehung R&T CEO Mr. B filed appeals.
The prosecution is also understood to have filed an appeal on the 9th.
Earlier, CEO A of Duseong Industrial and the corporation were prosecuted in June for handling the hazardous substance trichloromethane without installing local exhaust ventilation and failing to take safety and health measures, resulting in acute liver toxicity poisoning affecting 10 main office employees and 6 subcontracted workers.
CEO B of Daehung R&T stood trial on charges of using the same cleaning agent as Duseong Industrial and neglecting to properly maintain a local exhaust ventilation system with weak airflow in the workplace, causing poisoning of 13 employees.
CEO C of Yuseong Chemical is accused of selling cleaning agents containing toxic chemicals to the two companies while falsifying and providing Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
They were the first in the country to be indicted under the Serious Accident Punishment Act and received first trial verdicts on the 3rd.
The Criminal Division 4 of Changwon District Court sentenced the CEO of Duseong Industrial to one year in prison with a three-year suspended sentence and ordered 320 hours of community service at the first trial sentencing hearing.
Duseong Industrial as a corporation was fined 20 million won, and DS Korea, known as a subcontractor of Duseong Industrial, was fined 5 million won.
The CEO of Daehung R&T was sentenced to 10 months in prison with a two-year suspended sentence and ordered 200 hours of community service.
The CEO of Yuseong Chemical was sentenced to two years in prison and was taken into custody in court, and the corporation was fined 30 million won.
Upon learning of the appeals, the Gyeongnam branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions immediately issued a press release criticizing the two company representatives.
The branch stated, “Despite the light punishment of a suspended sentence, they did not reflect on their wrongdoing and filed appeals,” and added, “There must be strong punishment for these two business owners who do not even show remorse.”
They continued, “Those who operate companies have the obligation to manage the risks occurring in their workplaces at a minimum and protect workers from those risks,” emphasizing, “If workers are injured due to failure in risk management, they must naturally take responsibility and make efforts to prevent recurrence.”
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