Two dead in nitrogen leak at LG Display factory

Two workers were killed and four others were injured after a nitrogen leak broke out at an LG Display factory in Paju, Gyeonggi, at around 12:50 p.m. on Monday.

The LCD manufacturing giant said in an official statement on Monday afternoon that two people suffocated in the accident while one individual was seriously injured and three were slightly wounded.

LG Display employees Moon Woong-jo, 34, and Lee Dae-gyu, 33, were the two casualties, the company said. T?he workers suffocated in the nitrogen gas that leaked during regular maintenance of processing equipment at one of the plant’s production lines.

The company told the Korea JoongAng Daily that police are still investigating the direct cause of the leak.

Oh Young-jin, 31, who was seriously injured during the incident, is being treated at Dongguk University Ilsan Medical Center. The three with the minor injuries are receiving treatment at Paju Medical Center, according to LG Display.

“We deliver a sincere apology and our sympathy for those who died in the accident. We will continue to make our best efforts for the quick recovery of injured employees,” LG Display said in a statement.

“As soon as the leak took place, we transferred the victims to nearby hospitals after calling the fire station and the police to send their own safety management teams to settle the situation,” said a company spokesman.

LG Display has held more than 100 emergency drills for possible gas leaks to prepare its workers in case of an accident, the company said.

It conducted its last emergency drill at the Paju plant at noon on Dec. 30 and assessed disaster prevention measures such as the correct use of protective equipment and emergency alerts.

BY KIM JUNG-YOON [kjy@joongang.co.kr]