Exclusive: Worker Killed After Being Left Alone with Machine Running

[Anchor]

A worker in his 50s was crushed to death by a machine at a public recycling facility in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, yesterday (June 22). As the bereaved family claims that the two-person work rule was not followed, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched an investigation.

Im Jihyeon reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

Fire trucks line up as they enter the facility, followed by police vehicles.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. yesterday, a report was filed stating that a man in his 50s, identified as A, had been caught in a compactor at a public recycling facility in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province.

At the time of the accident, A was working to remove debris that had fallen to the bottom of the compactor.

The facility operates on a principle where waste sorted on the second floor falls into the compression equipment on the first floor, and the compactor activates once a certain amount has accumulated. Police and labor authorities investigating the scene determined that the power to the compactor was still on when A entered the machine to perform his work.

The bereaved family claimed to SBS that A met his tragic end because he was working alone, violating the two-person work rule intended for safety.

It is reported that A was left unattended for at least 90 seconds after the accident before he passed away. The family expressed their outrage, noting that the machine involved in the accident lacked a safety device that would automatically stop operation when a person enters it.

[Bereaved Family: "When I asked, 'Why isn't there an interlock (safety device)?' they replied, 'There is no interlock there'..."]

The family expressed their profound grief, saying, "The deceased was a person of national merit, and this was a job he moved to two years ago after his contributions were recognized. He was so happy to have become a public official, and now he is gone so suddenly."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a work suspension order immediately following the accident and plans to investigate, alongside the police, whether safety protocols such as the two-person work rule were followed.

[Choi Myeong-gi / Professor, Korea Industrial Field Professor Group: "Because there is a limit to the amount of waste that can be processed in a day, there are many accidents that occur when workers try to remove debris while the equipment is being operated excessively."]

Gimpo Urban Corporation, which manages the facility, only stated, "We are in the process of determining the cause and circumstances of the accident according to procedure."

(Reported by Yang Ji-hoon | Video by Shin Se-eun | Graphics by Jo Su-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.