Ourhome factory worker dies 37 days after conveyor belt accident
The death of the subcontracted employee, who was critically injured in June after becoming trapped in machinery, has prompted police to upgrade their charges against company safety managers.
Ourhome's factory in Yongin, Gyeonggi.JOONGANG ILBO
A worker who was critically injured last month after becoming trapped in machinery at a factory of food service company Ourhome in Yongin, Gyeonggi, died Wednesday, 37 days after the accident, police said.
The worker died Wednesday morning after receiving treatment, according to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on the same day. The worker had been unconscious since the accident
The worker's death certificate reportedly listed the cause of death as suffocation.
At around 2:50 p.m. on June 8, the worker's neck got caught in the rotating shaft of a conveyor belt in a fish cake skewer packaging area at one of Ourhome's Yongin factories in Gyeonggi.
The worker, who was employed by a subcontractor, was immediately taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest after the accident and had been hospitalized since.
Following the worker's death, police upgraded the charges against company officials, who were previously booked last month, from occupational negligence resulting in injury to occupational negligence resulting in death.
Police booked one safety manager each from Ourhome and the subcontractor on suspicion of occupational negligence resulting in injury after determining that the conveyor belt involved in the accident was not equipped with a safety cover designed to prevent workers from becoming caught in the rotating machinery.
Ourhome's headquarters in Gangseo District, western SeoulYONHAP
Police also searched the factory where the accident occurred on June 23 and seized documents related to workplace safety management as part of their investigation.
Investigators plan to request an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to determine the exact cause and circumstances of the worker's death.
“We are continuing to examine whether the suspects violated their workplace safety obligations by reviewing materials seized during the search and questioning witnesses,” a police official said.
The factory has experienced similar industrial accidents in the past. In March last year, a foreign worker suffered serious injuries after their hand and arm became caught in machinery. The following month, another worker died after their neck became caught in a machine.
