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Contractor crushed to death at LG Energy Solution's Michigan battery plant amid repeated lockout/tagout violations
Jul 27, 2025A 34-year-old South Korean contractor, Kim Jung Won, was crushed to death on July 27, 2025 when machinery activated during equipment installation at LG Energy Solution's Holland, Michigan battery plant; MIOSHA found he was caught between the frame and lifting mechanism, consistent with inadequate lockout/tagout control of hazardous energy. The plant had already accumulated roughly two dozen OSHA/MIOSHA cases since 2017, including two willful lockout/tagout violations totaling $140,000 in penalties tied to a prior fatal 2023 accident, and a September 2025 chemical spill that sent 15 workers to the hospital.