![Jeong Sang-man, vice chairman of the Korean Metal Workers' Union, speaks at a press conference held at the union's office in Jeong-dong, Seoul, on July 29, to announce the findings of an investigation into the death of HL Mando worker Kim Seung-mo and to present the position of the bereaved family. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/07/rcv.YNA.20260729.PYH2026072909530001300_P1.jpg)
The Ministry of Employment and Labor and police have launched simultaneous search-and-seizure operations targeting both a prime contractor and its subcontractor in connection with the fatal entrapment of a worker in his 20s at HL Mando's factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, last month.
The raids mark the first enforcement action since the ministry announced it would actively use compulsory investigative measures, including search and seizure, to address recurring entrapment accidents in the manufacturing sector.
The Pyeongtaek branch of the Gyeonggi Regional Employment and Labor Office and the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said Friday they were conducting search-and-seizure operations at HL Mando's Pyeongtaek factory and the subcontractor's headquarters.
About 30 labor inspectors and police officers were deployed for the raids. Investigators plan to seize computers and related documents from those involved, focusing on whether the employer complied with safety regulations during maintenance work and whether a proper occupational safety and health management system was in place.
The ministry said it would closely examine whether adequate safety measures were taken to prevent accidents during the maintenance process, and whether the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act were violated.
The accident occurred around midday on July 22, when a 28-year-old subcontractor worker was killed after his upper body became trapped in a metal-processing machine while he was inspecting its interior and the equipment suddenly started operating.
Following the accident, allegations emerged that the work supervisor had left the site and that basic safety measures — including cutting off power, applying lockout/tagout procedures, and posting warning signs — had not been properly followed. There were also claims that the equipment the maintenance worker entered lacked an interlocking safety device and that a prime contractor employee had started the machine for a test run.
Through the raids, the ministry and police are expected to secure work plans, risk assessments, maintenance procedures, work instruction records and safety management documents to determine whether proper safety measures were in place at the time of the accident.
"We recognize the gravity of entrapment accidents that recur repeatedly at manufacturing sites," the ministry said, adding that it "plans to rigorously investigate potential violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act." It added that it would "actively pursue compulsory investigative measures, including search and seizure and detention, when a major fatal accident occurs or when the same type of accident is repeated due to failure to observe even the most basic safety rules."
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