President Lee Jae-myung on October 12 ordered a thorough investigation into allegations that a battery manufacturing plant misled workers into receiving injections purportedly to expel heavy metals from their bodies, calling it a "serious human rights violation" that is "absolutely unacceptable."
Chief Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong stated during a briefing that President Lee received a report from the Ministry of Employment and Labor regarding related measures and future plans.
The President criticized the plant for passing work environment assessments while using deceptive tactics to expose workers to harmful substances, despite detecting lead levels exceeding five times the legal limit during production.
"It is unacceptable for a company, which should protect the lives and health of its workers, to administer injections while concealing the risks of side effects and exposure to harmful substances," President Lee said.
He instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor and investigative agencies to thoroughly examine the exposure to harmful substances at the facility, the circumstances surrounding the injections, and whether health check results were concealed. He also emphasized that any illegal activities discovered during the investigation should be dealt with severely under the law.
President Lee directed a close examination of the possibility that similar cases undermining industrial safety and health systems may have occurred at other workplaces, urging a commitment to protecting workers' health and rights.
Earlier, MBC reported allegations that some workers at DN Automotive's Ulsan plant, which produces lead-acid batteries for vehicles, received repeated chelation injections before regular health check-ups, believing them to be vitamin shots for fatigue relief. Internal company documents reportedly recorded the number of injections and schedules for each worker.
In April, measurements by the Occupational Safety and Health Agency indicated that lead concentrations in the air at certain points in the factory exceeded legal limits, with some processes showing levels more than five times the standard. Chelation therapy is used to expel heavy metals like lead through urine but carries risks of side effects, including kidney damage, and is used only under strict conditions.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor is currently imposing fines on the facility and conducting related investigations. Police are also reportedly investigating whether there were any illegal activities in the health check and injection administration processes involving the company and medical institutions.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.