Forklift operator faces deeper trouble after another foreign worker alleges abuse
Published: 15 Aug. 2025, 15:55
![Video footage obtained by the Gwangju-South Jeolla Migrant Workers Network in July shows a Korean worker at the plant tying a Sri Lankan migrant worker to a stack of bricks with plastic wrap before hoisting him with a forklift. Another worker is shown laughing and filming the scene on a mobile phone. [GWANGJU-SOUTH JEOLLA MIGRANT WORKERS NETWORK]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/15/f6f87e21-35b7-4a23-9061-cd4950b5fac6.jpg)
Video footage obtained by the Gwangju-South Jeolla Migrant Workers Network in July shows a Korean worker at the plant tying a Sri Lankan migrant worker to a stack of bricks with plastic wrap before hoisting him with a forklift. Another worker is shown laughing and filming the scene on a mobile phone. [GWANGJU-SOUTH JEOLLA MIGRANT WORKERS NETWORK]
A Korean brick factory worker accused of tying a foreign co-worker to a pallet of bricks and hoisting him with a forklift is now facing fresh scrutiny, after another former worker came forward claiming he was subjected to the same abuse years earlier.
The former foreign employee told investigators that the forklift operator, a man in his 50s, tied him to a load and lifted him with the vehicle in 2021, according to the Gwangju Regional Office of Employment and Labor on Friday.
The testimony was collected during an inspection into a recent abuse case in Naju, South Jeolla, at the same factory involving eight foreign workers. In total, 21 current and former employees were interviewed as part of the probe.
Labor authorities suspect the forklift operator engaged in such abusive conduct on multiple occasions and are investigating whether there are additional victims. They plan to charge him with special assault under the Labor Standards Act, which carries heavier penalties than assault under the Criminal Act. No evidence of group harassment was found.
The forklift operator is already under investigation by both police and the Labor Office for a Feb. 26 incident in which he allegedly bound a 31-year-old Sri Lankan co-worker with industrial stretch wrap, secured him to a pallet of bricks, hoisted him with a forklift and drove him around the factory yard.
Separately from the criminal case, labor authorities have fined the forklift operator 3 million won ($2,200) for workplace harassment.
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.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)