121 Deaths This Year, an Increase Over Last Year
Focused Investigations Into Factory Accidents in Suncheon, Gwangyang, and Gwangju
With over 120 workers killed or seriously injured at industrial sites in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do this year, labor authorities are investigating possible violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act. Incidents such as the asphyxiation accident in a confined tank at a ready-mixed concrete plant in Suncheon and the fatal structural collapse at the POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks have drawn criticism that "these were preventable deaths, yet safety regulations were ignored."
On the afternoon of the 21st last month, workers cleaning a small tank at a ready-mixed concrete factory in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do fell unconscious. The police forensic investigation team is conducting an on-site investigation. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office on September 14, about 20 industrial accidents that occurred this year in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do are under investigation on suspicion of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act. The core focus of the investigations is whether legally mandated safety rules were followed at each site and whether manuals and plans to prevent accidents were established in a timely manner during work and operational processes.
The labor office cited the incident at a ready-mixed concrete plant in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, on August 21, where three workers died from toxic gas inhalation, as a representative case. In a joint operation with the police, authorities conducted a search and seizure to obtain hazardous materials management records and confirmed violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, such as failure to provide safety equipment, failure to measure gas concentration, failure to ventilate, and failure to conduct safety training. The company representative has been booked.
The investigation is also ongoing into the fatal accident at the POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks on August 14. Three workers were injured and one died when a structure collapsed during the dismantling of a dust collector pipe. It was revealed that there was no supervisor present at the site and that work was not carried out according to the pre-prepared plan, leading to the booking of the subcontractor's representative for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.
The authorities are also reviewing whether to apply the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to an accident at Kia's Gwangju Plant No. 3 in May, where a worker was killed after being caught in a cargo transport machine (hanger). The labor office is examining whether the risk was foreseeable and whether management was lacking compared to other plants.
In the first half of this year (January to June), 7,239 people were injured in industrial accidents in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, with 121 deaths. Compared to the same period last year, the number of injured workers decreased by 354, but the number of deaths increased by nine. Nationwide, 69,201 people were injured and 1,120 people died.
An official from the Gwangju Employment and Labor Office stated, "Although the types of incidents differ, we will clearly determine whether there were violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. We will strengthen investigations and supervision to eradicate industrial accidents."
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