Shopping carts sit at an outlet of U.S. retailer Costco in Uijeongbu, northeast of Seoul, on April 1, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating the recent death of a supermarket worker for possible legal violations.
The ministry announced that it is currently investigating the death of a 29-year-old individual who worked at the South Korean unit of U.S. retail giant Costco Wholesale Corp.’s outlet in Hanam, south of Seoul.
The person collapsed while managing carts and parking at Costco Hanam on June 19. They were taken to a nearby hospital but passed away two hours later.
According to the Korean Mart Labor Union, the initial diagnosis stated that the person died of a pulmonary embolism.
However, the final diagnosis revealed that the death was not only caused by a pulmonary embolism but also by excessive dehydration due to heat.
The labor union claimed that the person had to work long hours in temperatures ranging from 32 to 35 degrees Celsius between June 17 and 19, two days before their death.
“If the individual had been able to take a leave of absence without facing peer pressure and rest during the heatwave, or if the authorities had listened to them when they mentioned their difficulty breathing, they might have been saved,” the labor union said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
