Worker in His 30s Dies After Being Trapped in Roller at Kumho Tire's Gwangju Plant

Work-Stoppage Order Issued at Worksite... Police Investigate Circumstances of Accident

A male worker in his 30s died after becoming trapped in a large roller while inspecting equipment at Kumho Tire's Gwangju plant, prompting labor authorities and police to launch an investigation.

A view of Kumho Tire.

According to the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office and other sources, an accident occurred at around 4 p.m. on October 31 at Kumho Tire's Gwangju plant in Sochon-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, when part of worker A's body, including his arm, became caught in machinery.

At the time of the accident, A was reportedly measuring the thickness of a rubber sheet on calendering equipment, a key stage in tire manufacturing. Labor authorities believe that when the thickness gauge became caught in the rotating sheet, A reached out to remove it and was pulled into the roller machinery.

A sustained serious injuries and was rushed by a 119 ambulance crew to a nearby general hospital for intensive treatment, but died at around 12:21 a.m. on November 1, about eight hours after the accident.

After receiving the report, the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office's Regional Industrial Accident Prevention Supervision Division and Serious Accidents Investigation Division, along with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, immediately dispatched personnel to the site and began an initial investigation.

To prevent a secondary accident, labor authorities first issued an immediate verbal order to stop work on all the equipment involved, then posted an official written work-stoppage order at the worksite on the morning of November 1.

Labor authorities plan to closely examine whether the company fulfilled its essential duties to ensure occupational safety and health, including installing protective covers and emergency stop devices on hazardous equipment, and thoroughly determine whether it violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act or the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Police are also questioning plant officials and the worker's colleagues to establish the precise circumstances of the accident, including whether the two-person work rule was followed and whether there were any mechanical defects.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.