Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) booked company officials and launched a compulsory investigation over the fire at the Daewon Sanup factory in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, that left three people dead.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said on the 3rd that the Cheonan branch of the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office and the South Chungcheong Police Agency conducted searches and seizures at Daewon Sanup's Cheonan headquarters and Seoul office.
About 40 people, including labor inspectors and police, were mobilized for the search and seizure. Investigators secured related materials such as company officials' PCs and cellphones from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day.
Police booked three factory officials on charges of occupational negligence resulting in death and injury. The Cheonan branch of the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office also booked one company official on suspicion of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Police and labor authorities plan to examine whether the employer properly followed safety rules such as fire prevention and evacuation measures, along with determining the exact cause of the fire, based on materials secured in the search and seizure. They will also investigate whether the safety and health management system was properly established and operated.
Earlier, at about 11:42 a.m. on the 28th, an explosion and fire occurred at the Daewon Sanup factory in Dongnam District, Cheonan, South Chungcheong. In the incident, three people died, including a woman in her 70s who worked in the factory cafeteria and two employees of Philippine nationality. One employee was seriously injured, and one firefighter who responded to the scene was also hurt.
Police believe the fire started on the ninth-floor equipment of the "tallow refining tower," which extracts animal fat tallow and processes it into fatty acids, based on two joint forensic examinations on the 31st and on the 2nd. They also obtained testimony that three workers were performing a valve inspection there at the time of the accident.
Daewon Sanup is a company that produces fatty acids used as basic raw materials for various industrial products such as tires and paint.
The labor ministry plans to respond strictly to industrial accidents with major casualties by actively using compulsory investigations such as searches, seizures, and arrests. Police also plan to summon those involved to investigate the circumstances of the accident and safety management responsibility as soon as the analysis of seized materials is complete.