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U.S. labor department fines Korea-affiliated companies after death of worker at battery plant

Published: 17 Nov. 2025, 09:19

The Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America is seen, March 26 in Ellabell, Georgia. [AP/YONHAP]

Three Korea-affiliated companies have been fined $27,618 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the death of a worker at the Hyundai Motor–LG Energy Solution joint battery plant in Georgia.

According to an OSHA report, on March 21, a 45-year-old Korean national surnamed You was killed after being crushed by a forklift while working at the construction site of the Hyundai–LG battery plant in Georgia.

OSHA fined subcontractor Beyond Iron Construction, which employed the forklift driver, the largest amount of $16,550 for a serious violation, citing that heavy machinery was being driven at excessive speed without an audible alarm, resulting in a collision with a worker.

SBY America, which employed You, was fined $9,268 for failing to maintain a safe area of operation involving heavy equipment.

HL-GA Battery, the prime contractor on the site, was fined $1,125 for failing to submit injury reports from the past two years to the Department of Labor.

The joint battery plant, located within Hyundai Motor’s Meta Plant America complex, is the same site where U.S. immigration authorities carried out a mass arrest of Korean nationals on Sept. 4.

Although OSHA made its decision on Sept. 12 — shortly after most of the detained workers had returned to Korea — the penalties were only recently posted on its website.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that since construction began on the plant in 2022, three construction workers, including You, have died. The outlet also reported that OSHA had received 11 injury reports from the Meta Plant site in 2024 alone.

Local media outlets have noted the possibility that the series of worker deaths and injuries — along with repeated complaints by labor groups about illegal practices at the site — may have prompted the immigration raid in September.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY YOON SO-YEON [[email protected]]