Police have raided DN Automotive, an automotive battery maker, over allegations that the company gave factory workers injections designed to flush lead from the body while telling them the shots were vitamin injections.
The Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency said it searched DN Automotive's Ulsan plant in Ulju County and other sites on the 21st.
The search appears aimed at investigating the alleged administration of so-called lead-flushing injections. The allegation is that the company improperly administered chelation injections to conceal high blood lead levels among workers ahead of special health checkups. Chelation is a treatment that causes heavy metals in the blood to be excreted through urine.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor concluded that the practice obstructed government measures to protect worker health and referred the case to the Ulsan police on suspicion of obstruction of business. Police summoned a DN Automotive executive, identified only as A, on the 13th of this month to question them about how the injections came to be administered and whether there was intent.
Through the search, police are seeking to secure evidence supporting the obstruction of business charge as well as a charge of obstructing the ministry's official duties by deception, according to officials.