City Councilor Jang Yeon-ju: "Gwangju City Must Actively Prevent Industrial Accidents and Ensure Labor Safety"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jang Yeon-ju, a Gwangju City Council member from the Justice Party, urged the prompt enactment of an ordinance regarding the industrial accident death of a young worker at the Hanam Industrial Complex on the 22nd.

On the 1st, Councilor Jang stated in a 5-minute free speech at the plenary session, “The prosecution is handling the case as a death by negligence, and the employer also claims it was due to negligence, but the bereaved families and the citizens' countermeasure committee say it was an accidental death caused by the company's violation of safety measures,” adding, “The deceased was a young person with an intellectual disability. Gwangju City should promptly enact an ordinance to promote policies for industrial accident prevention and labor safety and health.”

Councilor Jang asserted, “Protecting the lives and safety of citizens is an important responsibility of Gwangju City,” and “In 2019 alone, the number of industrial accident victims in Gwangju was 12,721, with 204 deaths recorded. The number of accident victims is increasing every year.”

He said, “Before the enactment of laws and ordinances, there is something Gwangju City must do first,” and requested, “The city should actively cooperate in uncovering the truth of the industrial accident death at Hanam Industrial Complex and conduct a full survey of the use of crushers in the same industry.”

He continued, “Please immediately conduct on-site inspections of workplaces employing disabled workers to ensure they are assigned to safe tasks according to their type of disability,” and emphasized, “Trauma treatment is necessary for co-workers who witnessed the horrific death on site and for the bereaved families.”