Police have referred factory managers to prosecutors over a worker's fatal entrapment at the SPC Samlip Siwha plant last year. The move comes about 10 months after the accident.
Siheung Police Station said on the 25th that it had sent seven managerial employees without detention, including A, the center head at the SPC Samlip Siwha plant, as well as the production team leader, part leader, and line leader, on suspicion of occupational negligence resulting in death.
They are suspected of failing to fulfill safety management duties in connection with the death of B, a female worker in her 50s, who was caught in equipment and died on the cream bread production line at the SPC Samlip Siwha plant in Siheung, Gyeonggi, around dawn on May 19 last year.
At the time, B was found dead, caught between a rotating machine part and a support while working inside a "spiral cooling conveyor," manually spraying lubricant.
The workspace of the equipment was reportedly so cramped that an adult had to squeeze their body in. In particular, there were indications that the "automatic lubricant spraying device" attached to the equipment did not function properly.
An appraisal by the National Forensic Service found that the oil hose did not face the critical area that actually needed lubrication.
The referral comes roughly 10 months after the accident. Earlier, considering the seriousness of the case, police sought pre-arrest warrants for four people, including center head A. On the 19th, the court dismissed the request, citing "no concerns about evidence destruction."
The Seongnam Branch Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has separately booked CEO Kim Beom-su of SPC Samlip on suspicion of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and A on suspicion of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and is conducting a separate investigation.