Posco E&C, LT Sambo, Kyong Dong Engineering raided over suspected electrocution of Myanmar worker
Published: 12 Aug. 2025, 13:36
Updated: 12 Aug. 2025, 17:19
![Officials from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency and the Ministry of Employment and Labor enter Posco E&C’s headquarters in Incheon on Aug. 12 to conduct a raid in connection with the electrocution of a Myanmar worker at the company’s highway construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/12/96c017b8-1ccc-4e6c-8188-9120ed836697.jpg)
Officials from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency and the Ministry of Employment and Labor enter Posco E&C’s headquarters in Incheon on Aug. 12 to conduct a raid in connection with the electrocution of a Myanmar worker at the company’s highway construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]
Police raided Posco E&C, subcontractor LT Sambo and construction supervisor Kyong Dong Engineering on Tuesday over the suspected electrocution of a Myanmar worker at an expressway construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi. The raid comes days after President Lee Jae Myung called for reviewing Posco E&C’s license.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Policy Agency's special investigation team for the accident and the Seongnam branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor began searches at 9 a.m. at the headquarters of Posco E&C in Incheon, subcontractor LT Sambo’s office in southern Seoul and supervisory firm Kyong Dong Engineering's office.
The raid took place eight days after the accident and six days after President Lee ordered officials to review all possible legal measures, including revoking the company’s construction license. More than 70 officials, including 46 police investigators, joined the search.
Investigators plan to secure documents and electronic data on the installation and maintenance of the water pump involved in the accident, along with site safety plans and hazard prevention plans.
Because Posco E&C halted operations at all sites for emergency safety checks after a series of industrial accidents and resumed work before the incident occurred, authorities also plan to seize records related to the safety inspection.
Police booked two safety and health managers from Posco E&C and LT Sambo on charges of occupational negligence. The Labor Ministry also booked them and their companies for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
The accident occurred at 1:34 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the first section of the expressway construction site in Gwangmyeong.
The victim collapsed while inspecting a water pump located 18 meters (59 feet) underground in what police suspect was an electrocution. Emergency responders transported them to a hospital in cardiac arrest. They have since regained breathing but remains unconscious.
![The Posco E&C headquarters in Incheon [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/12/47e46584-2589-485d-9683-3afb3e1790a9.jpg)
The Posco E&C headquarters in Incheon [NEWS1]
The victim, who had worked at the site for about six months as an employee of the subcontractor, went down to the pump with another site worker after it stopped operating due to rain on Aug. 3.
Authorities found no other equipment nearby that could have carried an electric current.
The pump had its own power distribution panel, and the circuit breaker was still on at the time of the accident. The panel was also equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter.
Police are investigating whether the safety device functioned properly, if the victim wore appropriate protective gear and whether the worker had received adequate safety training.
The first report came immediately after the accident, according to a recording of the initial emergency call submitted by the Gyeonggi-Do Fire Services to Lawmaker Kwon Chil-seung of the Democratic Party.
The caller gave the site’s address and said, “Please send a vehicle quickly. A worker has collapsed.”
When the operator asked where the worker was injured, the caller said, “I don’t know where the worker is injured. They suddenly collapsed. They are unconscious. I think they are not breathing. We are performing CPR.”
In a follow-up conversation with a paramedic, the caller said, “They are breathing now. They are still unconscious. Please hurry.”
The paramedic instructed the caller to place the victim on their side, loosen their clothes and asked if they had collapsed suddenly. The caller replied, “We don’t know exactly why.”
The site called 119 two more times at 1:35 p.m. and 1:39 p.m.
![The Posco E&C headquarters in Incheon [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/12/6ab3aff8-f2dc-4952-9079-d85d09b43980.jpg)
The Posco E&C headquarters in Incheon [NEWS1]
In the second call, the caller said, “The victim seems to be moving a little. It’s urgent.”
In the third, the caller said, “Their eyes are half-open, and they're breathing as if yawning. Their eyes remain half-open.”
When the operator asked if the victim was making eye contact, the caller said, “No.”
Posco E&C CEO Jeong Hee-min resigned on Aug. 5, a day after the accident, taking responsibility for repeated serious industrial accidents.
President Lee ordered officials on Aug. 6 to review all possible legal measures against the company, including canceling its construction license and banning it from public bids.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom staff.
BY CHOI MO-RAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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