Labor Ministry looks to apply Serious Accidents Punishment Act to death of SPC worker

Posted on : 2022-10-19 17:27 KST Modified on : 2022-10-19 17:27 KST
The ministry said it has assembled a team of 18 people to investigate the case involving a worker becoming caught in factory machinery
Signs of protest have been plastered on the SPC Group headquarters sign in Seoul’s Seocho District on Oct. 17 following a press conference demanding action after a worker at an affiliate’s factory died on the production floor. (Yonhap)
Signs of protest have been plastered on the SPC Group headquarters sign in Seoul’s Seocho District on Oct. 17 following a press conference demanding action after a worker at an affiliate’s factory died on the production floor. (Yonhap)

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is conducting a sweeping investigation examining whether there were violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in the case of a worker in her 20s who died after being caught in machinery at SPL, an SPC affiliate.

The Ministry of Labor said Tuesday that it has set up an investigation team comprising 18 people, including labor supervisors from the Gyeonggi and Pyeongtaek district employment and labor offices and the Korea Industrial Safety Health Headquarters, to investigate the incident. This represents a large deployment of investigators for the case relative to the scale of the disaster.

The Ministry of Labor is paying special attention to the fact that the sandwich sauce mixer (stirrer) at the SPL Pyeongtaek factory, where the accident occurred, is equipped with neither a lid nor an automatic shutoff device to prevent workers from getting caught in the machine.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act and its Enforcement Decree stipulate that a lid should be in place when mixing materials using power units and that the machine should be stopped when injecting, mixing, and discharging materials. According to the Ministry of Labor, there is a possibility that the factory may have violated these stipulations.

Choi Tae-ho, head of the ministry’s industrial accident prevention and inspection bureau, said, “[A cover] should be attached during machine operation. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, there should be a cover or a protective device.”

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is also applied in the event of a serious accident that involves the death of one or more workers resulting from violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Due to the lack of surveillance cameras to check the work site, the Ministry of Labor is investigating 11 workers and company officials who were near the site at the time of the accident.

The fact that there have repeatedly been accidents involving workers getting caught in machines is also subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

According to data released by Justice Party lawmaker Lee Eun-ju during a parliamentary audit by the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee on Monday, 15 of the 37 (40.5 percent) industrial accidents at SPL factories from 2017 to September this year involved workers getting caught in machines.

The Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act stipulates, “A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall establish work procedures for identifying and improving hazardous or risk factors varying on the characteristics of the relevant business or place of business; and take necessary measures after conducting an inspection at least once every half year.”

An employer who does not take appropriate measures to prevent accidents despite their repeated occurrence, resulting in the death of a worker, is subject to punishment.

People mourn the 23-year-old worker who died while working at an SPL bread factory affiliated with SPC at a wake on Oct. 17. (Yonhap)
People mourn the 23-year-old worker who died while working at an SPL bread factory affiliated with SPC at a wake on Oct. 17. (Yonhap)

The Ministry of Labor is also looking into the fact that the worker was working alone when she was sucked into the machine, deviating from the company’s operation manual that instructs employees to work in pairs. The Serious Accidents Punishment Act may also be applied if the company was responsible for the worker working on her own, while it believed it necessary to include in the manual the instruction to work in pairs.

“It could be against the law if the company did not follow its own manual to work in pairs,” said Choi. “We will identify clearly those responsible for the accident through a serious investigation.”

Meanwhile, the Pyeongtaek Police Station booked an SPL factory official on charges of occupational negligence.

“It is difficult to speak on the specific details of the negligence because we are in the prior stages to the investigation,” said a police official.

In addition, the police decided to conduct an autopsy of the dead worker’s body Wednesday morning at the request of the bereaved family, who had originally not demanded one.

“I understand that the mother demanded an autopsy to know why her daughter died,” said a Labor Ministry official.

The bereaved family told Hankyoreh the same day, “Investigations should be carried out quickly and rigorously.”

“The most important thing is to ensure that our dead child does not feel wronged,” they added.

By Jeon Jong-hwi, staff reporter; Jang Hyeon-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

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