The labor ministry is trying to determine whether a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act has been committed at a construction site in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province 

According to the ministry on Friday, a construction worker of a subcontractor of SM Construction fell 15 meters to the ground at around 2:45 p.m. Thursday while moving toward a mobile elevated work platform at the construction site for a factory of Hanyang Precision. The laborer, in his 50s, was immediately transported to the hospital but did not survive.  

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act can be applied in the latest incident as the construction costs for the building of the factory exceed five billion won.  

The act, which was put into effect on January 27 of last year, penalizes the owners or management of companies with jail time of over one year or a fine of up to one billion won, or around 800-thousand U.S. dollars, for a serious accident or death that occurs in the absence of relevant safety measures. 

The labor ministry has ordered the suspension of construction efforts as it is trying to determine whether the latest incident constitutes a violation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and Occupational Safety and Health Act.