Vietnam detains 2 South Koreans in scaffolding collapse
May 19, 2015, 3:36 AM
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Police in central Vietnam detained two South Korean managers for the Samsung Group on Tuesday over a scaffolding collapse in March that killed 13 workers and injured dozens.
Col. Phan Ke Hien, a spokesman for Ha Tinh provincial police, said Lee Jae-myeong and Kim Jong-wook are accused of violating labor safety regulations, which carries a penalty of up to 12 years in prison.
All of the victims were Vietnamese subcontractors who were working on a seaport breakwater project in the province, about 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Hanoi. Samsung C&T Vietnam, a unit of South Korea’s Samsung Group, is the contractor.
State-controlled media said the workers began to flee when the scaffolding started to shake, but Lee and Kim urged them to stay.
The Son Duong seaport is part of the Vung Ang economic zone, where Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Corp. is building a multibillion-dollar steel complex.
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