[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] The prosecution, which investigated the death of a worker in his 20s in a machine accident at the SPL bakery plant in Pyeongtaek, an affiliate of SPC, handed over SPL CEO Kang Dong-seok and the corporation to trial on charges of violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act.
The Criminal Affairs Department 2 (Senior Prosecutor Kim Yoon-jung) at the Pyeongtaek branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office said on the 25th that it has indicted Kang, CEO of the SPL Pyeongtaek bakery plant, without physical detention on charges of violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and professional negligence resulting in death. In addition, three people, including the company's plant manager, were indicted without physical detention on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and SPL corporations violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act, respectively.
Kang is suspected of killing a worker A (23) after being caught in a source blender for failing to take safety measures, such as not preparing work safety standards at a bakery plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 15 last year.
According to the investigation, Kang did not prepare a work safety standard for accident work. It has also been confirmed that the dangerous work method of putting hands into the mixer was left unattended and that a group of two workers were not deployed when performing dangerous work. It did not install interlock interlock facility interlocking cover that automatically stops when the cover is opened during mixer operation in the refrigerated sandwich line mixing room.
It was found that Kang did not establish measures to prevent recurrence after the disaster, and did not conduct safety and health checks, take measures for supervisors to perform their duties, and evaluate and manage more than once a half year.
This is the first time that the prosecution has applied the Serious Disaster Punishment Act for failing to come up with measures to prevent recurrence even after the disaster. At the SPL Pyeongtaek bakery, 12 cases have been found to have occurred over the past three years, including two mechanical jamming accidents since Kang took office as CEO.
Like Kang, three SPL plant managers are accused of violating safety measures and safety and health security obligations.
The prosecution dismissed SPC Group Chairman Heo Young-in, who was accused of violating the Serious Accident Punishment Act by the bereaved family of the deceased worker, as "not guilty." The prosecution explained that in the case of SPL, as a separate corporation, Kang is in charge of management who exercises practical and final decision-making over the overall project, including safety and health affairs.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
