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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] On June 16, South Korean police and labor authorities conducted a series of raids and initiated criminal proceedings against subcontractors involved in the fatal workplace accident that claimed the life of subcontracted worker Kim Chung-hyun at the Taean Thermal Power Plant operated by Korea Western Power.
The investigation team from the South Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency and the Ministry of Employment and Labor dispatched approximately 80 personnel at 10 a.m. to simultaneously search five locations: the headquarters of Korea Western Power, the headquarters of Korea Plant Service & Engineering (KPS), the KPS Taean office located within the power plant, and the worksite operated by Korea Power O&M, the second-tier subcontractor that employed the deceased.
Authorities are pursuing charges including occupational negligence resulting in death, violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and potential breaches of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Police have formally booked officials from Korea Plant Service & Engineering (KPS), the primary subcontractor, as well as personnel from Korea Power O&M, the second-tier subcontractor that employed Mr. Kim.
Whether any officials from Korea Western Power, the plant owner and operator, will also face charges will depend on the findings from the materials seized during the raids.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
