Obtained Indictment for Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter Case
Work Environment During Arsenic Poisoning Incident Detailed
The prosecution has indicted Park Young-min, CEO of Youngpoong Group, on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in connection with the arsenic poisoning death incident at the Youngpoong Seokpo Smelter, stating in the indictment that on the day of the accident, arsenic trioxide levels reached up to 1ppm, approximately 200 times the standard limit.
According to the 21-page indictment of the Youngpoong CEO obtained by Asia Economy on the 8th, regarding the Youngpoong accident in which a subcontracted worker in his 60s died from arsenic poisoning and three workers were injured, the prosecution noted, “The Jeongaek 1st Unit plant where the victims worked continuously exceeded the permissible arsenic trioxide limit of 0.005ppm from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on December 6, 2023, and especially from around 1:35 p.m. to 2 p.m., arsenic trioxide was measured at 1ppm, about 200 times the standard limit.”
The prosecution stated regarding Park, the person responsible for management, “When subcontracting, outsourcing, or entrusting work to a third party, it is necessary to establish evaluation criteria and procedures concerning the ability and technology to ensure workers’ safety and health for industrial accident prevention, and to inspect at least twice a year whether subcontracting, outsourcing, or entrusting is conducted according to those criteria and procedures.”
Park Young-min, CEO of Yeongpung Seokpo Smelter, who underwent a pre-trial detention hearing on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, is leaving the Andong branch of the Daegu District Court on the afternoon of August 28. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Furthermore, the indictment stated, “From 2022 to 2023, Youngpoong Corporation did not assign any dedicated personnel to the safety and health department or operated it with only one person, thus failing to establish a dedicated organization responsible for overseeing and managing safety and health tasks.” This explicitly states in the indictment the primary contractor CEO’s duty to manage the safety of subcontracted workers.
Regarding Bae Sang-yoon, the Seokpo Smelter Manager, the prosecution pointed out his management duties, saying, “After the acute arsenic trioxide poisoning accident occurred in 2022 at the Jeongaek 1st Unit plant, he should have inspected to ensure that the control plan for this incident was implemented.”
Asia Economy repeatedly requested the law firm representing CEO Park for comments related to the indictment contents but had not received a response by 5 p.m. on the 8th.
Meanwhile, at the Seokpo Smelter in Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, on December 6 last year, one worker died and three were injured due to arsenic poisoning while replacing a tank motor. The prosecution has arrested and indicted CEO Park and Manager Bae on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. This is the second case where a primary contractor CEO has been arrested and indicted under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, following the Arisel fire disaster incident in which nine people died.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
