South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered a thorough investigation into allegations that a car battery maker gave workers lead-flushing injections disguised as vitamin shots.
Lee issued the order on Oct. 12 after being briefed on the labor ministry's decision to refer the company to police, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
He condemned the alleged practice as "a grave violation of human rights that can never be tolerated," saying the company had concealed both the risks of exposure to hazardous substances and the side effects of the injections.
He told the ministry and investigators to examine the workers' exposure, how the injections came to be given and whether medical examination results were concealed, and to take "strict action in accordance with the law" if violations are found.
At a Cabinet meeting on Oct. 13, Lee called the case "clearly a serious crime" and demanded swift action. "Workers are not livestock, and even livestock should not be treated that way," he said, CBS Nocut News reported.
'Vitamin shots' before health checkups
The allegations center on DN Automotive's battery plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan. Broadcaster MBC reported on Oct. 11 that workers there were periodically given chelation injections, which force heavy metals out of the blood through urine, just before mandatory health checkups, and that the workers understood them to be vitamin shots.
MBC obtained an internal document, issued in the name of the plant's occupational health manager, that listed workers due for more chelation treatment, with their names and dose numbers written against calendar dates.
The broadcaster said the company appeared to be trying to keep workers' blood lead below 30 micrograms per deciliter, the threshold that brings them under government oversight. About 100 workers are believed to have received the injections since 2022.
Chelation drugs can damage the kidneys and are normally used only to treat serious heavy metal poisoning. U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules bar employers from giving workers chelation as a preventive measure.
According to Kang, Lee also criticized the plant for passing a workplace environment assessment even though lead levels during production exceeded the permissible limit by more than five times.
The labor ministry began looking into the plant after a tip in late January. Its inspection found 88 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 68 of which were referred to prosecutors, while the other 20 drew fines totaling 46.2 million won ($34,600), Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
The ministry also halted lead-handling processes at the plant from April 21 to May 7 and, on Aug. 13, asked police to investigate the company for obstruction of business, judging that the injections undermined government measures to protect workers' health.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency has summoned company officials and staff from the hospital that administered the injections, Munhwa Ilbo reported on Oct. 13.
Lee also ordered checks for similar practices at other workplaces. The ministry is inspecting 14 other battery plants, and MBC reported that the government is investigating similar allegations at a lead-acid battery factory in Gwangju.
DN Automotive told MBC that workers received the injections voluntarily.
The company had earlier insisted it never presented the treatment as vitamins, Munhwa Ilbo reported.
On Oct. 12, CEO Kim In-hwan apologized in a statement for failing to uphold the principle that employee safety and health come first.
"If the findings show that the company bears any responsibility, we will accept it fully without attempting to evade accountability," Kim said, according to The Korea Herald.
At a parliamentary audit of the labor ministry on Oct. 13, ruling Democratic Party lawmakers called for DN Automotive's CEO and affected workers to testify, and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon pledged to submit the ministry's inspection records, CBS Nocut News reported.
DN Automotive shares plunged more than 20% on Oct. 12, Seoul Shinmun reported.