Central Accident Response Headquarters Announces Safety Enhancement Measures
1 Billion KRW Support for Partition Installation and Emergency Exit Improvements
65 Issues Identified in Special Workplace Inspections
Strengthened Hazardous Materials Management Plan to Be Released by End of This Month
As a result of a special inspection of the Hwaseong Arisel site, where a fire accident in June caused 23 deaths, 65 violations were detected, including the installation of emergency exit doors in the opposite direction of evacuation. The government will mandate safety education for foreign workers to prevent a recurrence of the Arisel accident. In strengthening safety management for small-scale workplaces, the risk assessment criteria will be tightened, and consulting and follow-up management will be conducted for vulnerable workplaces. Financial support of 100 million KRW will also be promoted for installing partition walls and other measures to ensure rapid evacuation in case of fire.
"Amendment to Ensure All Foreigners Complete Safety Education"
The Central Accident Response Headquarters for the Hwaseong Arisel factory fire held its third meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 13th and announced the 'Measures to Strengthen Safety for Foreign Workers and Small-scale Workplaces.' This measure is a follow-up to the emergency safety support implemented on the 18th of last month to prevent fire accidents in battery handling workplaces. It was developed based on field opinions from foreign workers, business owners, and industry associations.
Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik (second from the right) is briefing the results of the Central Accident Response Headquarters meeting related to the Hwaseong Arisel fire accident at the Seoul Government Complex on the 13th. / The measures include making it mandatory for all 920,000 foreign workers to receive safety and health education. Kim Jong-yoon, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, explained, "While basic safety education is provided for visas managed by the Ministry of Employment and Labor such as H-2 or E-9, the Arisel factory had many fatalities among F-4 visa holders. We will amend the Industrial Safety and Health Act to ensure that all foreigners complete basic safety education before starting work."
Since it will take time to amend the law, various channels will be used to increase education to eliminate blind spots. For foreign workers with F-series visas, which have many employed persons, a basic safety and health education course will be newly established in the Ministry of Justice’s Social Integration Program. The Overseas Koreans Office will also include basic safety information and industrial accident compensation guidance in its domestic Korean settlement support guidebook.
The government is conducting an 'Industrial Safety Diagnosis' this year, where workplaces self-assess their safety management levels. In the future, the results of this diagnosis will be checked during workplace inspections and supervision, and professional consulting will be provided by organizations such as the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency to vulnerable workplaces that receive a 'red' rating in self-assessment. At this time, interviews with business owners and management officials will be mandatory. A follow-up management stage will also be newly established, where a revisit will be conducted within six months to check compliance.
Additionally, the 'Risk Assessment Support System (KRAS)' will be improved. Comprehensive monitoring of supported workplaces and results from on-site inspections will be reflected in evaluations, and the weight of the appropriateness evaluation of project execution will be increased from 40% to 60%. The recognition criteria for risk assessments will be raised, and if a major accident occurs within three years after recognition, the reduction in industrial accident insurance premiums will be reclaimed. This is to prevent misuse of risk assessment recognition projects as a means to reduce industrial accident insurance premiums.
In the case of the Hwaseong Arisel factory, despite being a high-risk workplace, it was excluded from inspections and supervision. To improve this, the government will prioritize inspections of 200 high-risk workplaces related to fire and explosion that have not been inspected or supervised in the past three years. They plan to check compliance with overall safety and health rules.
Financial support will also be expanded to enable rapid evacuation in case of fire. Starting next year, up to 100 million KRW will be provided for installing partition walls and improving emergency exits. The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will collaborate to support costs used to improve the visual environment of workplaces so that emergency exits and evacuation routes are easily recognizable.
At the '49th Day Memorial Service for the Victims of the Arisel Factory Fire' held at the site of the Arisel fire accident in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 11th, bereaved families are seen observing a moment of silence. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Furthermore, to increase safety investment in the construction industry, where many fatalities occur, the industrial safety and health management costs will be raised by an average of 19% for the first time in 10 years. These costs are paid by the client and used for safety management. The current 60% self-payment rate will be abolished by 2026, making the government responsible for the increased industrial safety and health management costs, which can be used to purchase or rent smart safety equipment.
65 Violations Detected Through Special Inspection... Emergency Doors Installed in Reverse
On this day, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that a special inspection of the Hwaseong Arisel site conducted over two weeks from the 3rd of last month detected 65 violations across 28 clauses. Problems such as improper installation of emergency exit doors facing the wrong direction (2 cases), failure to install gas detection and alarm devices in places with flammable liquid vapors (2 cases), and failure to designate explosion hazard areas (1 case) were found, and legal action will be taken accordingly.
A total of 82 violations subject to fines were also identified. Issues included failure to conduct worker safety and health education and health checkups, and failure to keep material safety data sheets at the workplace. Since some of these are linked to investigations into violations of the Dispatch Act, the final subjects and amounts of fines will be determined later.
The Central Accident Response Headquarters is providing various support for the families of the victims of the Arisel fire, including assistance with entry procedures, accommodation, legal counseling, and psychological treatment. After completing consultations with all families at a counseling booth operated by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, industrial accident compensation payments were made to 21 families. Procedures for the remaining two families will be completed promptly.
Lee Jung-sik, head of the Central Accident Response Headquarters (Minister of Employment and Labor), stated, "The Hwaseong Arisel factory fire was the result of a combination of factors, including the weak safety management capabilities of small-scale workplaces and insufficient safety education for foreigners unfamiliar with Korean culture and language. We will raise the safety management level of small-scale workplaces where foreign workers mainly work and strengthen basic safety and health education."
Meanwhile, the government is investigating violations related to the 'Industrial Safety and Health Act,' 'Serious Accident Punishment Act,' and 'Dispatch Act' to determine the cause and responsibility for the Arisel fire accident. The 'Battery Factory Fire Recurrence Prevention Task Force (TF),' which includes related ministries, plans to announce measures to strengthen the management of hazardous materials such as lithium, which caused the Arisel factory fire, by the end of this month.
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