Two years after a fatal accident involving a worker's entrapment at a bakery factory operated by SPC subsidiary Shani, the Ministry of Employment and Labor referred the case to prosecutors.
The Seongnam branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 1st that it had referred Lee Kang-seob, former CEO of Shani, to prosecutors for violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act at the end of last month. Additionally, charges of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act were applied to factory manager A.
Former CEO Lee and others are accused of failing to adequately manage safety regarding the incident on Aug. 8, 2023, when a female employee in her 50s, identified as A, was killed after becoming entrapped in a dough machine at the Shani bakery factory in Jungwon District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
Employee A was performing a task with a partner that involved lifting dough contained in a round stainless steel container using a lift machine to transfer it to another container when the accident occurred. It was revealed that despite making some changes to the lift machine's equipment to enhance work efficiency, the Shani bakery factory did not conduct a hazardous risk assessment, which is mandatory when such facility changes are made.
Earlier, about three months after the incident, in November 2023, police had referred seven individuals, including former CEO Lee, to prosecutors on charges of negligent homicide in the workplace. However, the investigation by the Ministry of Employment and Labor regarding violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act was prolonged, leading to the referral to prosecutors two years after the incident occurred.
Former CEO Lee stepped down from his position as co-CEO after completing his term in October last year.