Samsung Display under probe over on-duty death of employee

Samsung Display’s Asan production plant is shown in this Dec. 1, 2021 file photo. Courtesy of Samsung Display

An employee of display manufacturer Samsung Display recently died in an accident in the central city of Sejong while on duty, officials said Tuesday, prompting a regional labor authority to begin an investigation into the company's possible violation of the industrial disaster prevention law.

The accident occurred at 2:10 p.m. Friday, when the 42-year-old employee got his chest stuck in the machine while inspecting a display product prototype at the Sejong plant of Chemtronics, a subcontractor of Samsung Display, according to the Daejeon Regional Labor Office.

The employee was transferred to a hospital but died about two hours later.

The regional labor office immediately ordered the suspension of the concerned process at the plant and launched an investigation on whether the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was violated. The law took effect in 2022 to punish employers and chief executives accused of failing to fulfill their duties to prevent fatal accidents. (Yonhap)