Ministry of Employment and Labor "Sampyo Industry Yangju Office Raided... Checking Compliance with Safety Obligations"

Sudden Search and Seizure Three Days After Accident
30 Experts Including Labor Inspectors Deployed
Verification of Application of Serious Accident Punishment Act

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The Ministry of Employment and Labor has conducted a search and seizure at the Sampyo Industrial Yangju Plant, where a fatal landslide accident occurred. This comes three days after the accident.

On the 31st, the Ministry announced that it is carrying out a search and seizure of the on-site office at the Sampyo Industrial Yangju Plant and the offices of subcontractors in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, to verify allegations of violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act related to the landslide accident.

This marks three days since the Ministry of Employment and Labor initiated an investigation for violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act following the landslide accident.

The Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters deployed about 30 personnel, including labor inspectors from the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office and a digital evidence analysis team, for the search and seizure operation.

The Ministry plans to thoroughly verify the management status regarding the risk of landslide collapse by the Yangju Plant officials and whether safety measures were neglected.

This accident is notable as the first investigation subject under the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which came into effect on the 27th. If it is confirmed that Sampyo Industrial failed to fulfill obligations such as establishing a safety and health management system, even the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) could face punishment.

The Ministry explained, "Based on the materials secured through the search and seizure and additional investigations, we will further verify not only whether there were violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act but also whether the obligations of management to ensure safety and health under the Serious Accident Punishment Act were properly implemented not only at the site but also at the headquarters level."

At around 10:08 a.m. on the 29th, a landslide occurred below the quarry at Sampyo Industrial Yangju Plant in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, burying three workers operating two drilling machines and one excavator under approximately 20 meters of soil. So far, two have been found dead, and search operations for one person are ongoing for the third day.

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