President Lee orders probe into injection claims at Ulsan plant — Korea Herald

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation into reports that workers at an automotive battery plant in Ulsan were allegedly repeatedly given drugs that remove heavy metals, presented as vitamin injections. The Korea Herald reported this, citing senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

Review of working conditions and medical examinations

Before the president’s instruction, the Ministry of Employment and Labor briefed him on the measures taken and its further action plan. Lee instructed the ministry and investigative authorities to examine the impact of hazardous substances on workers, the circumstances of the injections, and the possible concealment of medical examination results.

The president also ordered strict measures in accordance with the law if violations are established. According to Kang, Lee described the alleged practice as a serious human rights violation that cannot be tolerated and said there may have been an attempt to conceal the risks of side effects from chelation therapy and data on workers’ exposure to hazardous substances.

MBC report and the company’s position

The instruction followed a report by local broadcaster MBC. The channel reported that workers at DN Automotive’s battery plant in Ulsan were allegedly repeatedly given injections of drugs designed to remove heavy metals from the body, including lead, before mandatory medical examinations. According to the reports, the workers were told that these were vitamin injections.

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Such injections could have artificially lowered lead levels in the blood before mandatory examinations and concealed the extent of staff exposure to hazardous substances. As Kang conveyed, Lee also criticized the company for allegedly using such practices to pass workplace environment inspections, despite lead concentrations during production reportedly exceeding the permissible level by more than five times.

DN Automotive denied forcing workers to receive injections and said the treatment was voluntary. Lee also ordered an examination of whether similar practices were used at other enterprises and stronger protection of workers’ health and rights against attempts to circumvent occupational safety rules.

Chelation therapy helps remove heavy metals from the body but can have serious side effects, including kidney damage. It is usually used in cases of significant heavy metal poisoning.