{
  "id": 13900714,
  "title": "Lee orders stern response to alleged abuse of workers at car battery plant",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/lee-orders-stern-response-to-alleged-abuse-of-workers-at-car-battery-13900714",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-12T07:42:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20261012/lee-orders-stern-response-to-alleged-abuse-of-workers-at-car-battery-plant"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Lee Jae Myung has ordered authorities to respond strongly to allegations that a car battery manufacturer, DN Automotive, duped its workers into receiving injections to remove heavy metals from their bodies, according to the company's spokesperson. The allegations suggest that the manufacturer concealed dangerously high levels of lead in its production line by disguising the injections as vitamin shots ahead of medical exams. Lee was informed of the labor ministry's decision to refer the company to the police for investigation, and he strongly condemned the government for allowing the company to pass a work environment assessment despite the lead contamination.\n\nThe president emphasized that allowing a company to protect its workers' lives and health while engaging in such deceptive practices amounts to a grave human rights violation. According to his spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, Lee expressed this view by stating that the company, which is responsible for safeguarding workers' well-being, had exploited them through the use of injections that could potentially cause harmful side effects.",
  "summary": "President Lee Jae Myung ordered the authorities Monday to respond sternly to allegations that a car battery manufacturer duped its workers into getting shots to discharge heavy metals from their bodies in order to cover up dangerous levels of lead in its production line, his spokesperson said. According to a news report, DN Automotive, a major local car battery manufacturer, tricked workers at…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Lee orders stern response to alleged abuse of workers at car battery plant",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/lee-orders-stern-response-to-alleged-abuse-of-workers-at-car-battery",
        "published": "2026-10-12T06:43:59.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Lee orders stern response to alleged abuse of workers at car battery plant",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/lee-orders-stern-response-to-alleged-abuse-of-workers-at-car-battery-13897117",
        "published": "2026-10-12T07:22:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}