Farm trainee death under probe

[Anchor]

Last week, a fire broke out at a pig farm in Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, resulting in the death of a university student who was undergoing on-site training.

This training was mandatory for graduation, and claims have been raised that students are receiving unfair treatment in such training environments.

Reporter Moon Geu-rin has the story.

[Report]

The 19-year-old trainee from the Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries died in a fire at a pig farm in Hapcheon on the 19th.

He worked in the 'breeding' area, managing the pregnancy and farrowing of pigs.

He was deployed to the site in March under a training contract between the university and the farm, not an employment contract, and faced this tragedy just two months later.

The deceased trainee was supposed to work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and receive 800,000 won as training support per month.

This amount falls far short of the minimum wage.

[Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries Graduate/Voice Altered: "Some receive as little as 300,000 won a month, while a some of the students receive up to 1,500,000 won, but still, it doesn't meet the minimum wage."]

Trainees complain that the 40-hour workweek is not properly enforced, and they are often assigned to highly demanding tasks.

[Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries Graduate/Voice Altered: "(In pig farms or beef cattle farms) you wake up at 4 AM and work until 6 PM."]

Despite facing unfair treatment, many cannot voice their complaints because the on-site manager is responsible for evaluations.

[Korea National College of Agriculture and Fisheries Graduate/Voice Altered: "(At the training site) they think of us as cheap labor. I don't think they actually teach much to the trainees."]

The Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating whether the Industrial Safety and Health Act applies to the trainee's death, as well as potential violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

They are also looking into whether the farm owner provided proper safety training to the trainees.

This is KBS News, Moon Geu-rin reporting.