President Lee Hosts "Workplace Meeting at Sites of Serious Industrial Accidents"
Selects "SPC Samlip Siwha Plant," Site of Recent Fatal Accident, for First On-site Visit
SPC Group Chairman Heo Youngin and SPC Samlip CEO Kim Beomsoo Attend
"The Repetition of the Same Accidents in the Same Way at the Same Sites Is a Problem"... Continues to Stress the Importance of Industrial Accident Prevention
On July 7, President Lee Jaemyung held an on-site meeting at the SPC Samlip Siwha Plant in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, under the theme of "Workplace Meeting at Sites of Serious Industrial Accidents." He emphasized, "If safety and lives are being sacrificed for money or costs, that is something that must truly change." This was President Lee's first visit to a corporate production site since taking office. At the SPC Samlip Siwha Plant, a fatal accident occurred this past May when a female worker in her 50s was killed after her upper body was caught in a conveyor belt during work.
Beginning his remarks by saying, "I pray for the repose of the workers who lost their lives at industrial sites," President Lee stated, "I myself am a former worker and also a victim of an industrial accident. Even though several decades have passed since then, there are still far too many workers dying at workplaces." Attendees at the meeting included Heo Youngin, Chairman of SPC Group, Kim Beomsoo, CEO of SPC Samlip, Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, and Kim Jongyun, Director-General of the Industrial Safety and Health Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor. From the presidential office, Kim Yongbeom, Chief of Policy, and Moon Jinyoung, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs, were present.
President Lee continued, "If industrial accidents were truly unavoidable, occurring only sporadically and unpredictably, that would be understandable. However, the fact that the same type of accident is repeated in the same way at the same site is a real problem." He pointed out, "These are accidents that can be predicted and prevented."
President Lee also said, "One of the predictable causes for the recurrence of the same incidents is the imbalance between the costs of prevention and the consequences when accidents occur." He added, "Although Korea is said to be one of the world's top 10 economic powers and an advanced country with a per capita income close to $40,000, the worksites themselves do not look like those of an advanced nation. Therefore, I believe the Minister of Employment and Labor will have much work to do going forward."
Since taking office, President Lee has repeatedly called for measures to prevent industrial accidents during Cabinet meetings and meetings with senior aides and advisors. At the Cabinet meeting on the 22nd, he said, "For a country that is called one of the world's top 10 economic powers, top 5 military powers, and a cultural powerhouse, we must do everything possible to minimize the suffering of people whose workplaces, where they went to support their families, have become sites of death." He also stated that he would visit the sites of fatal industrial accidents as soon as possible.
In response, Minister Kim stated that he would personally lead the "Safe Workplace Project" to shed the disgraceful label of "Republic of Industrial Accidents." He announced that workplaces would be subject to unannounced inspections once a week, and the results would be reported at the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Earlier, at a meeting with senior aides and advisors on the 10th, President Lee also said, "For industrial sites with risks, there must be the ability to conduct unannounced inspections," and instructed, "Significantly increase the number of labor inspectors compared to now." At this meeting, after receiving a report on the comprehensive industrial safety measures, President Lee also directed that the authority of local governments to conduct inspections at hazardous industrial sites be strengthened.
At the SPC Samlip Siwha Plant visited by President Lee on this day, a fatal accident occurred this past May when a female worker in her 50s was killed after her upper body was caught in a conveyor belt during work. In October 2022, at the SPL bakery plant (an SPC affiliate) in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, a worker in their 20s died after being caught in a sauce mixer. In August 2023, at the Shany plant in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, a worker in their 50s died after being caught in machinery.
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