Triple Punishment of Doodling, Disciplinary Action, and Fines
Criticism for Shifting Responsibility Without System Improvement
A veteran train operator A (59), who has maintained a "1 million km accident-free" record over 30 years, recently feels like he is walking on thin ice every day. Last May, A failed to notice that the screen door at Gasan Digital Complex Station on Seoul Subway Line 1 did not open due to a sensor malfunction. A underwent so-called "writing a warning" safety training at the office for three days and was reprimanded and fined 1.5 million won. A said, "The sensor malfunction repeated several times, and I recorded and reported all of them, but Korea Railroad Corporation replied that they could not repair it."
Recently, as the railroad corporation shifts responsibility onto railroad workers without fundamentally improving the safety system, train operators are complaining of severe stress.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to the office of Yoon Jong-gun, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, out of 109 railroad-related fines from 2016 to last June, 101 were imposed on train operators. The total amount of fines was identified as 105.9 million won. According to the Railroad Safety Act, railroad workers are fined 1.5 million won for the first violation, 3 million won for the second, and 4.5 million won for the third if they fail to comply with regulations.
B, a 9-year veteran train operator (32), was also fined five years ago for failing to stop the train at the exact position. B said, "Train operators are not machines, so adjusting the stopping position is a routine matter. When it snows or rains, the train slips more, and if there are 100 trains, all 100 have different braking power," adding, "It is excessive to impose a fine immediately when the stopping position is not followed intentionally. Who would want to be a train operator if punished like this?"
A representative of the National Railroad Workers' Union criticized, "The railroad corporation shifts responsibility to field workers without fundamentally improving the safety system," and added, "They need to establish effective and fundamental safety system improvements rather than safety measures focused on monitoring and punishment."
A Korea Railroad Corporation official explained, "The corporation is discussing safety reinforcement together with the union," and said, "When an accident occurs, we take responsibility for the accident and always establish safety measures."
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