Employee Dies While Working at Emart Store... Union Demands "Measures to Prevent Recurrence"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] It was belatedly revealed that an employee collapsed and died while working at an Emart store.

On the 29th, the Korean Federation of Trade Unions’ National Emart Labor Union stated, "On the 4th, an employee collapsed and died while working at a store in the Seoul area," and strongly urged, "We demand that the company notify employees of the questions they have, the investigation details of the accident, and measures to prevent recurrence."

According to the union, the employee worked at the cashier from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., then returned to their usual workplace at the 'Molly's Pet Shop' store and collapsed while working there. However, the collapse was not immediately discovered, and it was only at lunchtime when the afternoon shift arrived that the employee was taken to the hospital, but died the next day on the 5th.

The union pointed out, "The deceased employee’s job was to sell pet products at Molly's Shop, so why were they instructed to assist with cashier duties on the day of the accident?" and added, "The deceased reportedly had low blood pressure; wouldn’t assisting with cashier duties be too burdensome for an employee with an underlying health condition?"

They also raised doubts about whether the mandatory annual health checkups were properly conducted if there was an underlying condition, and whether the company was aware of the employee’s health status.

Additionally, the union claimed that the company imposed a gag order regarding the incident. The union stated, "Due to the company’s gag order, only a very few know the details of the incident, threatening Emart workers’ right to know and their right to work safely."

Furthermore, they criticized, "When the employee collapsed in the store, the company failed to discover it immediately and left them unattended, missing the golden time to save a precious life."

The union emphasized that the company must transparently disclose the circumstances of the death and establish a committee with joint participation from labor and management to create measures to prevent recurrence.

Emart responded to the incident by stating, "The gag order claimed by the union is completely untrue," and explained, "We are continuing sincere discussions with the bereaved family."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.