◀ anchor ▶
The Act on Punishment of Serious Accidents, which has been in effect since then, allows the person in charge of management to be sentenced to one year or more in prison or a fine of not more than 1 billion won if a worker dies as a result of an industrial accident.
If it is confirmed that safety management has not been done properly in this accident, Sampyo Industrial will be the first to be punished under this law.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched an investigation.
This is reporter Lee Jae-wook’s report.
◀ Report ▶
Sampyo Industrial, which caused the accident, is a company whose main business is quarrying and collecting aggregates, along with manufacturing of ready-mixed concrete, and employs close to 1,000 full-time workers.
The Serious Accident Punishment Act, which came into effect two days ago, applies to workplaces with 50 or more full-time workers, where one or more fatalities occur or two or more injured persons requiring treatment for more than six months.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor stopped work not only at the accident site but also at other sites in Sampyo where similar work is in progress, and initiated an investigation into the Severe Accident Punishment Act against Sampyo.
Whether mandatory safety measures have been taken is the key to the investigation, and whether the work conductors have been properly placed, whether there has been safety training, and whether or not to pre-check the possibility of the upper part collapsing, which is the direct cause of the accident, is also an issue.
[고용노동부 관계자]
“Since blasting, I make a work plan, check the safety of workers, and check the site (I have to), and most of what I’m telling you now (as a result of the initial investigation) is not going well.”
If the law goes into effect, the CEO could face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to one billion dollars.
Sampyo Group affiliates, including Sampyo Industries, have experienced industrial accidents every year since 2019.
In particular, the Samcheok Factory of Samjo Cement was designated as a ‘workplace with frequent serious accidents’ in April of last year and was subjected to a special inspection by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Sampyo Industrial issued a statement in the name of the CEO and said that it would sincerely apologize to the bereaved family and sincerely take part in the investigation of related organizations.
This is Lee Jae-wook from MBC News.
Video coverage: Kim Hee-gun / Video editing: Min Kyung-tae
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