Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, investigating an explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant that killed five workers, have launched a forced investigation targeting Hanwha Aerospace headquarters and other sites. The accident occurred while workers were cleaning tools used to manufacture rocket propellant.
The Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office said Thursday that from that morning it had deployed 55 personnel together with the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency's regional crime investigation unit to begin searches and seizures at three locations, including Hanwha Aerospace headquarters and the Daejeon plant.
The labor authorities and police plan to secure materials related to the cause of the explosion, such as the propellant cleaning work process procedures and blueprints, as well as materials related to the company's safety and health management system. They also plan to determine whether safety measures were sufficient during work such as cleaning at the site.
Based on the materials secured through this search and seizure, the labor authorities plan to identify the cause of the repeated explosion accidents and determine whether there were violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
The Labor Ministry formed a dedicated investigation team of about 20 people immediately after the accident and launched its investigation, while the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency also formed a dedicated investigation team to investigate the cause of the explosion, the state of on-site safety management, and where responsibility lies. Police have conducted witness interviews with two employees who were in the same department as the deceased. A joint memorial altar for the five victims is scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Friday.
