No More Shared Pain... Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Holds Gwangju Collapse Disaster Countermeasure Meeting

Meeting of Heads of 30 Institutions Nationwide, Strengthening Cause Investigation and On-Site Inspections to Prevent Recurrence

Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Ahn Jong-ju, Director of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, held a countermeasure meeting on the collapse accident in Hwajeong-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, on the 18th with heads of 30 frontline institutions nationwide.

Director Ahn instructed to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and strengthen safety inspections at construction sites nationwide.

At the meeting, based on the investigation conducted by the agency so far, the cause of the accident was examined, and measures to prevent similar disasters by each frontline institution were the main focus of discussion.

Regarding the collapse accident in Hwajeong-dong, Gwangju, which occurred on the 11th, the agency formed an accident response team according to the ‘Manual for On-site Measures for Large-scale Human Accidents at Workplaces’ and is concentrating on on-site technical support and accident investigation.

The agency plans to manage high-risk construction sites nationwide with a high risk of fatal accidents throughout the year, dispatch experts to support the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s special supervision of major construction sites of HDC Hyundai Development Company, and urgently inspect the conditions of other sites.

On this day, inspection measures for construction sites with a project scale of less than 5 billion KRW, where fatal accidents frequently occur, were discussed, and areas with frequent fatal accidents over the past five years were designated as ‘Red Zones’ to strengthen regular patrols.

On the 12th, as the first nationwide site inspection of the year, the agency investigated 1,074 workplaces in industries such as construction and waste disposal, pointed out 1,308 safety deficiencies at 599 sites, and ordered corrective actions.

This year, site inspections will be operated regularly, and together with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, core risk factors such as falls and entrapments in construction and manufacturing industries will be intensively inspected.

Ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, the agency checked the preparation status for early settlement at sites and provided consulting for 2,000 manufacturing and other workplaces struggling to establish safety and health management systems, as well as 1,500 workplaces in construction and chemical industries.

For the prevention of traditional accidents such as falls and entrapments, the agency will support costs for improving hazardous and dangerous facilities such as system scaffolding and ladder-type work platforms with a budget of 119.7 billion KRW, increased from 94.3 billion KRW last year.

The ‘Safety Investment Innovation Project,’ which supports costs for improving dangerous machinery and hazardous processes, will expand its target and plans to support up to 100 million KRW per workplace.

Director Ahn Jong-ju said, “We will thoroughly investigate the site and identify the cause to ensure that tragic incidents like the Gwangju collapse accident never happen again,” adding, “We will establish a groundbreaking turning point in reducing industrial accident fatalities through disaster prevention activities centered on on-site communication.”