Police bar Hanwha Aerospace CEO from leaving the country over deadly blast

DAEJEON — Police have barred Hanwha Aerospace's CEO and other executives from leaving the country as they investigate the explosion that killed five workers at the defense company's Daejeon plant on June 1.

The Daejeon Police Agency's special investigation team said Monday it had placed three people under a travel ban: Son Jae-il, the CEO and the official responsible for safety at the Daejeon plant; the plant's head, Ga Jae-ung; and one other employee whose name the police have not disclosed. Police have booked Ga on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury and of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The travel bans follow an investigation that began soon after the accident, comprising around 50 officials, who also questioned seven Hanwha Aerospace officials and five bereaved family members. In a search on Thursday, they seized the mobile phones of six executives at the team-leader level or above, including Ga, and are running digital forensics analysis. They are also reviewing about 5,400 items of evidence, including safety-management records, work orders and electronic data.

Police also called in a supervisor and a non-regular worker who had worked in the cleaning room in Building 56, where the explosion occurred, questioning them as witnesses about whether safety rules were followed on the day of the accident and in day-to-day operations.

Separately, the Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office booked Son charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which can hold a cSompany's top decision-maker criminally liable for a workplace death, and also barred him from leaving the country. It had earlier seized one of his mobile phones. The labor office said it has formed its own investigation team of about 20 people.

"Through a thorough investigation, including analysis of the materials secured in the searches and questioning of those involved, we will work to clearly establish the cause of this accident and where responsibility lies," a police official said.

The explosion broke out around 10:59 a.m. on June 1 at the Daejeon plant in Oesam-dong, Yuseong District, killing five workers. One other worker suffered burns over their entire body and another sustained minor injuries. Explosions at the same plant killed five workers in 2018 and three in 2019.

BY SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]