Cheongju removed a rear step from a city-operated garbage truck only after a sanitation worker riding on it was fatally injured. The city had known that rear-step travel posed a danger and that the steps remained on vehicles it operated directly, despite a 2018 government safety plan rejecting the practice because of the risks on domestic roads.
- Crash location
- Yullyang-dong, Cheongwon District, Cheongju
- Workers injured
- Two sanitation workers riding on the rear step
- Fatality
- A temporary city worker in his 20s died the next day
On the morning of Nov. 5, a cargo truck struck the garbage collection vehicle from behind on a road in Yullyang-dong, Cheongwon District. Two sanitation workers standing on the rear step were injured. A temporary Cheongju employee in his 20s died the following day while receiving hospital treatment.
A known hazard remained on city vehicles
The danger had previously reached the city council. In March 2025, a city official said contracted operators had removed the steps from their vehicles but the city had not yet done so on its directly operated fleet. The available evidence does not specify how many city vehicles still had steps or whether Cheongju had set a deadline for removing them.
Operational pressure helped preserve the practice. Without the step, workers had to walk between collection points or repeatedly climb into a high vehicle, increasing collection time. Some contractors also received complaints that waste was not being collected properly. Jecheon began a pilot in June 2026 to compare collection times, efficiency and staffing needs before and after removing such steps.
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' North Chungcheong regional branch said Cheongju had left in place a work structure that made it difficult to finish assigned routes on time without riding the step. The step involved in the crash was removed after the worker's death, leaving scrutiny on why a danger recognized by both the national government and the city had not prompted earlier action.