The head of a waste aluminum collection and processing company with 10 employees has been handed over to the prosecution in connection with a worker’s death at the workplace. This is the first case of a business with fewer than 50 employees being subject to the relevant law after the enforcement of the major accident penalty law in January of this year.
The Busan Regional Employment and Labor Administration announced on the 13th that they had referred Mr. A, the head of the waste aluminum collection and processing company in Busan’s Gijang County, to the prosecution on charges of violating the major accident penalty law last month.
On January 31st, around 9 a.m., a worker in his 30s at the company got caught and suffocated between the guide rail of a forklift mast (to guide the loading and unloading of cargo) and the cargo loading compartment while handling waste materials with a forklift. Mr. A is being charged with not maintaining a proper safety and health management system.
The major accident penalty law was initially applied to workplaces with more than 50 regular workers starting in January 2022. For businesses with 5 to 49 employees, there was a 2-year grace period, and it took effect on January 27th of this year.