'Arrest Warrant for Site Manager of Sampyo Industry, the First Case under the Serious Accident Punishment Act... Headquarters Also Aware of Collapse Risk'

On February 11, officials from the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a search and seizure at the headquarters of Sampyo Industries in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in connection with the collapse accident at a quarry in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi Province, where three workers died. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

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[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Labor authorities have applied for an arrest warrant for the site manager responsible for the Sampo Industry quarry collapse accident that occurred last January. Investigations revealed that Sampo Industry headquarters was also aware of the possibility of the quarry collapse in advance.

The Central Regional Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 27th that it has applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A, the site manager responsible for the Sampo Industry Yangju quarry collapse accident, which resulted in the deaths of three workers. Site manager Mr. A is suspected of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

Earlier, on January 29, about 300,000 square meters of soil collapsed at the Sampo Industry Yangju quarry. Three workers died in the accident, including two drilling machine operators and one excavator operator. This was the first major industrial accident to occur just three days after the Serious Accident Punishment Act came into effect on January 27.

In response, the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted two rounds of raids on the accident site and Sampo Industry headquarters. The evidence seized during the raids to confirm violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act by Sampo Industry and others amounted to about 10,000 pages. The Ministry has been conducting investigations focusing on the suspect site manager and 21 key witnesses until recently. The Ministry also conducted drilling investigations of the collapse area together with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and related experts to thoroughly analyze the geological composition and physical properties of the quarry as well as the collapsed slope.

Search for Missing Persons in Yangju Quarry Accident
(Seoul=Yonhap News) On February 2, rescue authorities are using heavy equipment to search for missing persons at the collapsed and buried site of the Sampyo Industrial quarry in Dohari, Eunhyeon-myeon, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi Province. 2022.2.2 [Provided by the Fire Agency. Redistribution and DB prohibited]
Photo by Yonhap News
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The investigation found that the main cause of the quarry collapse was excessive quarrying work. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the quarry collapsed during the reckless blasting and excavation work carried out by Sampo Industry to increase production. It was revealed that not only the site but also Sampo Industry headquarters had been sufficiently aware of the possibility of ground collapse, as some soil had already collapsed or cracks had appeared before the accident. The Ministry believes that Sampo Industry headquarters knew about the risk of collapse but proceeded with excavation to increase the quarry output.

The Ministry plans to soon conclude the case against site manager Mr. A for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act and send it to the prosecution. The Ministry also intends to accelerate the investigation into the CEO of Sampo Industry for violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act.

Lee Myung-ro, head of the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office, said, “Protecting the lives of workers must take precedence over any corporate objectives,” adding, “(Sampo Industry and others) neglected safety and pursued only profits, resulting in the loss of three workers’ lives.”

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