Police raid KOWEPO, KEPCO unit over worker's death in Taean Power Station
The building of Korea Electric Power Corp. inside the Taean Power Station in the county, where a subcontracted worker died from being trapped in a machine, South Chungcheong Province, June 3. Yonhap
Police on Monday raided the headquarters of Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO) and other locations in connection with the death of a subcontract worker at a thermal power plant in the southwestern city of Taean.
The Chungnam Provincial Police and the labor ministry have sent 80 personnel to search the headquarters of KOWEPO and KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering Co. (KPS), a unit of KEPCO; KPS' Taean branch office; and the office of Korea Power O&M, a secondary subcontractor to KEPCO, from 10 a.m.
The subcontracted worker, identified as Kim Chung-hyun, died after his body became trapped in a milling machine at the Taean Power Station in the county, 108 kilometers southwest of Seoul, while processing iron rods on June 2.
Kim, who was reportedly working alone at the time, was affiliated with Korea Power O&M, a subcontractor of KEPCO KPS, which was hired by KOWEPO.
Police plan to secure evidence related to the contract between KOWEPO and its subcontractors and the victim's employment contract, along with materials to verify the safety guidelines at the work site.
The labor ministry will look into whether any legal violations occurred on site, including if KOWEPO and KEPCO KPS had given work orders to Kim, and if there were any protective devices to prevent such trapping accidents.
"Depending on the outcome of the raid, the scope of the investigation could be extended, and we will decide whether to book someone in the case," an official said.