Former Shany CEO denies charges at first trial over fatal factory accident

Lee Kang-seop, the former chief executive of bakery company Shany, denied all charges at his first trial over a worker's death at the company's factory in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in August 2023.

At the opening hearing Monday before Judge Kang Myeon-gu of the Seongnam Branch of Suwon District Court, Lee's defense attorney entered a not-guilty plea on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

"We have not yet finished reviewing the extensive case records, but we deny the charges as stated in the indictment," the defense attorney said.

The attorney added that while the indictment broadly lists safety management obligations, it must be clearly established which specific duties the defendant owed, which of those duties were breached, and whether any breach had a substantial causal link to the worker's death.

The defense also asked the court to designate the next hearing as a preparatory session to allow time to review investigative records and discuss procedural matters. The court granted the request, scheduling the next session as a pretrial preparatory hearing on Aug. 13.

Lee and six other Shany officials face charges of negligence in safety management in connection with the death of a female worker in her 50s, identified only by her surname B. She was fatally caught in a lift machine used to mix dough at the company's bakery factory in Jungwon-gu, Seongnam, on Aug. 8, 2023.

At the time, B was working in a two-person team, using the lift to transfer dough from a circular stainless steel container into another mixing vessel, when the accident occurred.

Prosecutors allege that Shany modified part of the lift equipment to improve operational efficiency without conducting a mandatory hazard and risk assessment required by law, and that this failure caused the accident.

“전쟁 끝 빚투 더 과열?” 은행권 큰 숙제, 신용대출 세게 조인다 [머니뭐니]

https://biz.heraldcorp.com/article/10771565