[Death in the Bread Factory]④Lax Laws Rendered Useless Before Dangerous Machines

Gaps in Legally Mandated Safety Measures

Editor's NoteWill everything be resolved if President Lee Jaemyung's stern order to eliminate night overtime and reduce work intensity is followed? The core issue behind the recurring fatal entrapment accidents at SPC Group factories is that workers operating unmanaged machines were unable to stop the equipment when they sensed danger. Asia Economy has reconstructed the process of the three fatal accidents and the machines involved, examining the moments when the tragedies could have been prevented.

The repeated fatal accidents involving SPC Group factory workers losing their lives while operating dangerous machinery can be attributed to legal loopholes that prevent timely correction of the company's lax machine management. Because machine safety inspections are focused on the construction industry, machines in manufacturing sites are effectively left in a gray area. Furthermore, the law that grants workers the authority to stop machines in hazardous situations has become obsolete, which has also contributed to these accidents.

On the 27th of last month, a worker who completed a 12-hour shift at the SPC Samlip factory in Siheung, Gyeonggi, is waiting for the shuttle bus home. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

According to Asia Economy's investigation on September 12, over the past three years, the machines responsible for fatal entrapment accidents at SPC were not subject to prior inspection or monitoring by national agencies. This is due to Article 89 of the current Occupational Safety and Health Act, which stipulates that if a company manufactures or imports machines not designated as requiring safety certification by presidential decree, it must 'self-inspect' their safety and 'report' them to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Companies only need to submit documents to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service proving that the machines meet the product manual and voluntary safety standards, making the reporting process simple. Since national agencies are not required to directly inspect or monitor the machines in advance, it is only after an accident occurs at a factory that authorities can check whether there was a problem with the machine.

However, SPC was not even required to follow this simple reporting process. The machines involved in the safety accidents were introduced before 2013, when they became subject to voluntary safety confirmation reporting. SPC stated, "At the time these machines were first introduced, safety-related reporting was unnecessary," adding, "We later conducted our own safety checks on the machines."

Current law focuses the obligation of machine safety inspections on the construction industry. According to Article 84 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, machines commonly found at construction sites-such as presses, cranes, high work platforms, gondolas, and lifts-must undergo preliminary reviews, document reviews, technical capability and production system reviews, and product inspections by certification bodies designated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Additionally, certification bodies are required to verify at least once every two years that these machines continue to meet safety certification standards.

The authority to directly inspect and correct safety issues at construction sites is held not only by the Ministry of Employment and Labor but also by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and local governments. According to Article 54 of the Construction Technology Promotion Act, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, special self-governing mayors, special self-governing provincial governors, mayors, county heads, and district heads can inspect sites and take corrective action if safety measures are deemed necessary for construction projects.

In response to previous safety accidents at SPC factories, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to implement a revised enforcement rule of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in June next year, expanding the list of machines requiring safety certification to include mixers, crushers, and grinders. However, this is merely a patchwork measure that applies only to certain machines involved in accidents at food manufacturing plants, not to all machinery used in such factories.

Seo Yongyun, professor of industrial engineering at Dongguk University, stated, "Machinery at construction sites is mainly managed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and in sectors like semiconductors, where associations are strong, safety is managed at the association level. In reality, there is no agency responsible for inspecting the safety of machinery in manufacturing plants such as those in the food industry." He added, "Even machines with the same operating mechanism can be excluded from safety inspections, which is a problem. If safety inspection targets were determined based on operating mechanisms rather than specific product categories, the safety of more machines could be ensured."

The political community also agrees that the legal framework needs to be revised. Assemblyman Kim Taeseon of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, said, "To prevent recurring industrial accidents, the scope of machine inspections for hazardous equipment must be expanded. It is time to reconsider the fundamental industrial accident prevention system, including the overlap of administrative authority and the method of designating equipment subject to safety inspections."

◆Even When Machines Are Faulty, It Is Difficult to Exercise the Right to Stop Work

The law has guaranteed workers the 'right to stop work' in dangerous situations since 1995, but in reality, exercising this right is difficult. Article 52 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act allows workers to stop work and evacuate if there is an imminent risk of an industrial accident. Furthermore, employers are prohibited from taking adverse action, such as dismissal, against workers who have reasonable grounds to believe there is an urgent danger. However, the criteria for when the right to stop work can be exercised are unclear, leading to frequent legal disputes between workers who stop work and management.

The Supreme Court first ruled in favor of a worker who exercised the right to stop work in November 2023. On July 26, 2016, when hazardous substances were released in gas form at the Bugang Industrial Complex in Sejong City, union leader Cho Namdeok of the Metalworkers' Union at Continental Automotive Electronics evacuated the factory with 28 employees. However, management imposed a three-month suspension on Cho for refusing to return to work, prompting him to file a lawsuit to overturn the disciplinary action. The Supreme Court ruled, "It cannot be definitively stated that the company workplace was in a location safe from hazardous substances," and noted, "There is room to believe that Cho recommended evacuation based on the statements of the fire department and labor inspector." It took six years for the worker to receive a court ruling after a prolonged legal battle with management.

Experts are calling for objective criteria to be clearly specified so that workers can exercise the right to stop work, as well as systematic measures to manage both work stoppages and resumptions. SPC announced that it is discussing ways to strengthen the right to stop work as part of its overhaul of work systems.

Jung Jaewook, professor of safety engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, said, "It is unrealistic for the government to set work stoppage criteria for every industry, but it is also unacceptable for the right to stop work to become obsolete. The current legal framework lacks clear definitions for when the right to stop work should be granted, but if the law were to require that this right be negotiated through labor-management councils or occupational safety and health committees according to the characteristics of each industry or workplace, it would be more helpful for exercising this right."

More details on SPC's machine entrapment accidents can be found in Asia Economy's Visual News. https://www.asiae.co.kr/en/visual-news/article/2025091015165318961