A series of worker deaths have occurred in Korea, including the fatal fall of a man in his 30s at a battery manufacturing plant in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, and the collapse and death of a man in his 50s due to extreme heat while conducting a survey in Gimje, North Jeolla Province. The Ministry of Employment and Labor has launched an investigation to determine whether these incidents violated the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

According to the Chungju Fire Station on July 29, at around 9:11 p.m. the previous day, a worker in his 30s, identified as Mr. A, fell into a 5-meter-deep tank at a secondary battery manufacturing plant in Daesowon-myeon. His colleagues found him in a state of cardiac arrest approximately six minutes later and transported him to a hospital, but he did not survive. One coworker told police, “We noticed Mr. A was missing and eventually found him collapsed inside the tank.”

Mr. A, who had been working at the plant for less than a year, is believed to have been cleaning a nickel-manganese compound storage tank alone at the time of the accident. Police plan to request an autopsy and are investigating all possible causes, including a fall or exposure to toxic gas.

The fatality in Gimje is also suspected to be a heat-related occupational accident. On July 24, around 1:30 p.m., a man in his 50s, identified as Mr. B, collapsed while measuring the depth of a pipeline near a river in Gongdeok-myeon, where high-pressure gas pipes were being installed.

Mr. B was taken to a hospital but died two days later. At the time of his collapse, his body temperature reportedly exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. A heat wave warning was in effect in the Gimje area, and the perceived temperature at 1 p.m. was 34.3 degrees. Police suspect Mr. B died from heat-related illness and are investigating the exact circumstances of the accident.