Ministry of Employment Holds Safety and Health Leaders Meeting with CEOs of 12 Construction Companies

Sharing Best Practices for Establishing a Self-Discipline Prevention System

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 28th that it held a Safety and Health Leaders Meeting to reduce fatal accidents in the construction industry with representatives from 12 specialized construction companies, including Shinseong ENG and Woojin INS.

The meeting was attended by representatives, vice presidents, and Chief Safety Officers (CSO) of the 12 specialized construction companies, Ryu Kyung-hee, Director of the Industrial Safety and Health Headquarters at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Director of the Construction Safety Office at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, where they discussed the current status of fatal accidents in the construction industry and policies for preventing industrial accidents in construction.

GS Neotek and Shinseong ENG, which have had no fatal accidents in the past three years, presented and shared best practices for establishing and implementing self-regulatory prevention systems, followed by a session to explore effective government support measures to reduce fatal accidents in specialized construction companies.

This meeting was held in recognition of the urgent need to enhance the safety management capabilities of small specialized construction companies following the expansion of the Serious Accident Punishment Act to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees as of the 27th of last month. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, fatal accidents in the construction industry accounted for 46% of all fatal accidents in 2022 (based on approval criteria for industrial accident survivor compensation).

Director Ryu, who hosted the meeting, emphasized, "To reduce fatal accidents in the construction industry, it is important for specialized construction companies on site to have disaster prevention capabilities," adding, "We plan to focus all our capabilities on supporting them, including consulting, technical guidance, and financial support for facility improvements, so that they can promptly establish and implement safety and health management systems."

He also urged, "Each construction company should check whether effective safety measures are being prepared and implemented through risk assessments on site, participate in the industrial safety inspection to evaluate safety management levels, and utilize necessary government support."