Ourhome worker trapped in conveyor belt at Yongin factory; CEO apologizes

A worker was caught in a conveyor belt at food company Ourhome's Yongin factory, the second entrapment accident at the site in just over a year.

According to Ourhome, the incident occurred at around 2:50 p.m. Monday at the fish cake skewer packaging floor on the fourth floor of the company's Yongin Plant 2, located in Namsa-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The victim, identified only as A, is a subcontractor employee whose neck was caught in the conveyor belt.

A was rescued in cardiac arrest and transferred to Korea Hospital in Osan at around 3:25 p.m. He is currently receiving intensive treatment, Ourhome said. Police believe his hygiene cap, worn during work, became entangled in the conveyor belt machinery and caused the accident.

Ourhome CEO Kim Tae-won issued a formal apology, saying he was "deeply sorry, as the company's chief executive, regardless of the circumstances, that something that should never happen in the workplace has occurred." He added that he "bows his head in apology particularly to the seriously injured employee and his family."

Kim said the company would "do everything in its power to support the employee's treatment and recovery" and that the production line where the accident occurred had been shut down entirely. Local authorities and relevant agencies are leading an investigation into the cause, he said.

He added that the company would "actively cooperate with all procedures to determine the cause of the accident," conduct emergency safety inspections across all its facilities to prevent a recurrence, and do its utmost to manage the aftermath and establish accountability.

Police are examining whether the company took adequate preventive measures and said they would seek charges of occupational negligence causing injury against those responsible if any negligence is found. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has also launched an investigation into possible violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Meanwhile, the same Yongin factory was the site of a similar accident last April, when another worker in his 30s had his neck caught in a cooling machine, was transported to hospital in cardiac arrest and ultimately died.