A worker in his 60s died in a crushing accident during work, prompting labor authorities to investigate whether there was a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 27th, at around 8:15 p.m. the previous day, worker A (61), a subcontractor employee of Daee Construction, was caught in an excavator while backfilling after installing a sewage pipeline at a sewage pipeline maintenance construction site in Seocho-gu, Seoul.
A was taken to the hospital for treatment but ultimately passed away.
The construction site where the accident occurred has a project amount exceeding 5 billion won, so the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applies.
The Serious Accidents Punishment Act came into effect on January 27 last year. If a serious accident such as a worker's death occurs at a workplace with 50 or more regular employees (or construction projects with a project amount of 5 billion won or more), the employer or management responsible for failing to fulfill accident prevention duties can be sentenced to imprisonment for more than one year or fined up to 1 billion won.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor stopped 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.
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