In connection with the accident in which a subcontractor in their 50s became trapped in a machine and fell into critical condition at OURHOME's Yongin plant, police have booked two safety managers from the main contractor and the subcontractor on criminal charges.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency's regional crime investigation unit said on the 15th that it had booked one safety manager from OURHOME and one safety manager from subcontractor J for occupational negligence resulting in injury.
They are suspected of failing to fulfill safety duties in connection with the accident around 2:50 p.m. on the 8th at the fish cake skewer packaging line on the fourth floor of OURHOME's Yongin Plant 2 in Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where A, a J employee in their 50s, became caught in a conveyor belt and was seriously injured.
A was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest immediately after the accident. As of this day, the seventh day since the accident, A was reportedly still in critical condition.
Police found that there was no safety cover installed at the accident point to prevent entrapment by covering the top of the conveyor belt. Police are looking into whether safety devices were installed and whether workplace management and supervision were properly carried out.
Similar entrapment accidents also occurred at the plant last year. In March last year, a foreign female worker in her 30s suffered serious injuries when her hand and arm were caught in a machine, and in April the same year, a Korean worker in her 30s died after becoming trapped in a machine.
Considering that entrapment accidents have been repeated at the same establishment over about a year, police said they plan to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and whether safety measures were implemented.
OURHOME said it halted operation of the production line immediately after the accident and would conduct an emergency safety inspection across all business sites. OURHOME CEO Kim Tae-won earlier issued an apology, saying, "Regardless of the reason, we deeply apologize for an incident that should never happen in the workplace," and added, "We bow our heads in apology to the employee who was seriously injured and their family."