The man, a robotics company worker in his 40s, was inspecting the robot's sensor operations at a distribution centre for agricultural produce in South Gyeongsang province.

The industrial robot, which was lifting boxes filled with bell peppers and placing them on a pallet, appears to have malfunctioned and identified the man as a box.

The robotic arm pushed the man's upper body down against the conveyor belt, crushing his face and chest, according to Yonhap. He was transferred to the hospital but died later, the report said.

The BBC notes that the man was "checking the robot's sensor operations ahead of its test run scheduled for 8 November 8." It was originally planned for 6 November, "but was pushed back by two days due to problems with the robot's sensor."