Ministry of Employment Investigates SAMPYO Industry CEO under Serious Accident Act... Headquarters Raided

On the afternoon of the 3rd, police and related agency officials are conducting a joint inspection at the site of the collapse and burial accident at the Sampyo Industrial quarry in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor has booked the CEO of Sampyo Industry, the first investigation target under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and conducted a search and seizure at the headquarters.

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that it has been conducting a search and seizure at Sampyo Industry's headquarters since around 9 a.m. on the 11th in connection with the quarry collapse accident in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi Province.

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office dispatched 45 personnel, including labor inspectors in charge of investigating serious industrial accidents and digital forensic labor inspectors from six local labor offices, to Sampyo Industry's headquarters to secure evidence to prove violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

This search and seizure is the second forced investigation conducted since the soil collapse accident occurred at Sampyo Industry's Yangju business site on the 29th of last month. The Ministry of Employment and Labor had previously conducted a search and seizure targeting the Yangju business site field office three days after the accident, on the 31st of last month.

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, which is investigating this case, confirmed circumstances indicating that Sampyo Industry did not properly establish a safety and health management system and booked the CEO on the 9th for charges under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office plans to comprehensively review the investigation contents of 15 site and headquarters personnel, including the site manager previously booked for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act, along with the materials secured through this search and seizure.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor explained, "Based on the secured materials, we will focus the investigation on whether the management was fulfilling their legal obligations to ensure safety and health."

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