South Korea Probes Samjong KPMG After Two Auditors Die in Three Months

South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor launched an intensive inspection of Samjong KPMG after a second auditor at the firm died within months of the first, with investigators now scrutinizing whether excessive working hours during audit season played a role in both deaths.

The ministry began the inspection on March 12, six days after a male auditor in his 30s died on March 6. Sources differ on his exact title, with one describing him as a staff accountant and another as a senior manager, but both accounts agree he was in his 30s and that he reportedly oversaw on-site audits and related operational work. His death came roughly four months after another accountant from the same firm died in November 2025. The ministry publicly announced the inspection on March 16, describing it as an intensive review of compliance with overall labor-related laws at the firm.

Investigators are focused on how Samjong KPMG structures and tracks employee working hours. The firm operates under both a discretionary work hour system and a selective work hour system, but allegations have emerged that those systems were improperly implemented. Employees were reportedly working more than 80 hours per week during peak audit periods while being unable to accurately record their overtime hours, a combination that, if confirmed, would represent a serious breach of South Korean labor law.

The inspection scope is broad. The ministry plans to review the appropriateness of the discretionary and selective work hour systems, examine potential misuse of the firm's comprehensive wage system, and determine whether employees were properly granted leave, rest breaks, and statutory holidays. Authorities stated that strict measures will be taken if violations are identified.

No cause of death has been released for either the March 6 victim or the accountant who died in November, and no direct causal link between working conditions and the deaths has been established. The allegations that excessive hours may have contributed remain unconfirmed pending the inspection's findings. Samjong KPMG has not issued a public statement in response to the deaths or the ministry's investigation.

The case raises broader questions about how South Korea's accounting industry manages workload during audit season, particularly at firms where flexible scheduling systems give employers significant latitude over how hours are counted and compensated. With the inspection underway and no timeline announced for its conclusion, the ministry's findings could set a precedent for how such systems are regulated across the profession.