CJ Logistics tried to cover up worker's death: report
An image from CCTV footage shows a part-timer (in the red circle) getting an electric shock at CJ Logistics' distribution center in Daejeon on Aug. 6. / Captured from SBS News Morning Wide
By Jung Hae-myoung, Park Si-soo
CJ Logistics was caught trying to cover up the death of a part-timer who was assigned a risky job without receiving safety education, local broadcaster CBS reported on Friday, citing sources.
The labor ministry confirmed the cover-up and launched a special investigation.
According to the ministry and police, the accident happened on Aug. 6 at CJ Logistics' distribution center in Daejeon.
The part-timer, 23, received an electric shock while monitoring products moving on a conveyer belt. He was taken to a nearby hospital but died 10 days later.
“When I came to the center the following day (of the accident), managers convened workers and ordered them to be tight-lipped over the accident,” CBS quoted a former CJ Logistics worker as saying.
“Before the accident, we had never received any kind of safety education. After the accident, however, the management offered one hour of safety education.”
He claimed the center had been prone to similar accidents, but nothing had been reported to authorities.
CJ admitted the deadly accident, but denied cover-up allegations.
“We cannot verify that there were managers who asked workers to stay silent over the issue,” a CJ Logistics official said.