Busan Employment and Labor Office Holds Investigation Briefing on the 7th
"Management Officials Failed to Fulfill Their Obligations"
As a result of the investigation into the fire at the Busan Banyan Tree Resort on February 6, which caused six deaths, it was revealed that there were no safety management personnel for fire prevention at the time. Some on-site supervisors were absent, and safety measures were not properly implemented.
On the 7th, the Busan Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held an investigative briefing at the Busan Police Agency regarding the fire accident at the construction site in Gijang-gun, Busan, and disclosed these findings.
The Busan Employment and Labor Office formed a dedicated investigation team on February 14, the day of the fire accident, and began investigating the cause of the fire and determining responsibility. On February 16, a joint on-site inspection was conducted with related agencies, and on February 18 and last month on the 4th, two rounds of search and seizure were carried out. Investigations of fellow workers and company officials were also conducted.
The Busan Employment and Labor Office explained, "As a result of conducting two fire accident reproduction experiments, sparks generated during pipe welding work on the first floor above ground spread to nearby insulation materials (expanded polyethylene) and thermal insulation boards (PF boards), causing the fire to spread."
They added, "On the day of the accident, about 800 workers were simultaneously performing various hot work such as welding and cutting. Nevertheless, there were no safety management personnel for fire prevention, and some on-site supervisors were at other locations, so safety measures to prevent sparks were not properly implemented."
They also pointed out, "Management officials responsible for inspecting and managing overall workplace safety and health measures and safety and health management systems did not fulfill their obligations."
The Busan Employment and Labor Office applied charges of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act against four individuals, including the construction company and related companies' management officials who failed to fulfill their safety and health obligations.
Considering the seriousness of the matter and concerns about evidence destruction, on the 4th, two construction company management officials were arrested on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and two site managers from the construction company and related companies were arrested on charges of violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
The Busan Employment and Labor Office stated, "We plan to promptly complete the investigation and then transfer the case to the prosecution."
Meanwhile, from February 27 to last month on the 14th, the Busan Employment and Labor Office conducted additional supervision targeting the construction company at the accident site and subcontractors involved in welding work.
During this period, special supervision was conducted on Samjeong Enterprise and Samjeong ENC headquarters, the construction company at the accident site, and four construction sites, while planned supervision was carried out on the headquarters and three construction sites of the subcontractors performing welding work.
As a result of the supervision, Samjeong Enterprise and Samjeong ENC were found to have failed to implement measures to prevent the scattering of sparks during welding work at other construction sites and failed to attach emergency exit signs. Numerous violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act were also confirmed, including failure to implement fall prevention measures and failure to provide worker safety and health education.
Regarding Samjeong Enterprise and Samjeong ENC headquarters, labor supervision was also conducted to check for violations of the Labor Standards Act, resulting in the detection of legal violations such as failure to prepare labor contracts and underpayment of various allowances.
The Busan Employment and Labor Office explained, "We have taken judicial actions on 10 violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act against Samjeong Enterprise and Samjeong ENC, and imposed a total fine of 91 million KRW for 32 cases including failure to provide safety and health education."
They added, "Following the planned supervision of subcontractors performing welding work, 13 violations such as failure to provide safety education for fire hazard work were detected, and a fine of 30 million KRW was imposed."
This fire occurred on February 14 at the new construction site of Banyan Tree Haeundae in Gijang-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan. Sparks generated during welding caused the fire to spread, resulting in six workers dead and 27 injured.
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