Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a raid on Hanwha Ocean following the death of a subcontractor at the company’s Geoje shipyard.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency said that more than 40 personnel from the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Disaster Investigation Team and the labor ministry’s Changwon regional office entered Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje headquarters and a subcontractor facility on the 27th. Officials secured materials related to the case as part of the joint investigation.
The search stems from a fatal incident on the morning of 17 last month, when a ship work platform collapsed at the LNG carrier system assembly area. A steel structure crushed a subcontracted worker in his 60s, resulting in his death.
Police are reviewing potential occupational negligence resulting in death, while the labor ministry is examining whether the accident involved breaches of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. As part of the investigation, the ministry has placed Hanwha Ocean’s CEO under inquiry on charges tied to violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.
