Ministry of Employment Supervises Hyundai Engineering Construction Site After Bridge Collapse

Emergency Follow-Up Measures to Prevent Recurrence of Collapse Accident

The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 27th that it will carry out emergency follow-up measures for three weeks until the 21st of next month to prevent the recurrence of the collapse accident at the Sejong-Anseong Expressway Section 9 construction site that occurred on the 25th, or similar accidents.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor decided to conduct industrial safety inspections at 22 construction sites where Hyundai Engineering, the contractor, is carrying out road, railway, and excavation works. Local labor offices will check and inspect the safety and health management status in accordance with the Industrial Safety and Health Act, and if there are any violations, they plan to take judicial actions.

Emergency safety inspections will also be conducted at 349 high-risk bridge construction sites nationwide where the distance between bridges is over 50 meters. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency will focus on checking compliance with construction standards such as design drawings and whether work plans for lifting heavy objects have been established and implemented. If there are any issues requiring urgent action due to serious safety concerns found during the inspections, the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s local labor offices will coordinate and carry out work stoppages and supervision.

Kim Jong-yoon, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "Accidents have been occurring consecutively at construction sites recently," and added, "We will inspect the safety conditions at the sites with heightened vigilance." He also urged, "Labor and management at the sites should thoroughly identify and improve risk factors before work to ensure accident prevention."