Hyundai Georgia Plant Raided by ICE
Safety Management Under Scrutiny After Series of Accidents
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on October 12 (local time) that the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant complex construction site in Georgia, United States-where over 300 Korean workers who were arrested and detained by U.S. immigration authorities on suspicion of illegal stay had worked-had been plagued by a series of accidents resulting in the deaths of three workers even before the crackdown, highlighting serious safety issues.
In an article titled "Hyundai Plant Was a Deadly Workplace Even Before ICE Raid," the WSJ reported that a total of three workers had died since construction began in 2022. The newspaper pointed out that this is an unusually high number, even considering the project's massive total cost of 7.6 billion dollars.
The first fatal accident occurred in April 2023, when a subcontractor employee fell from a height of 18 meters while working on the steel structure of the paint plant. Although the worker was wearing a safety rope at the time, the rope was severed by the sharp edge of the steel structure, resulting in the worker's death.
Subsequently, in March and May of this year, one person died in each of two separate forklift accidents. Both incidents took place at the Hyundai Motor Company-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site, which was also the focus of last month's immigration enforcement operation.
The newspaper also reported that, in addition to the fatal accidents, more than ten workers suffered serious injuries after falling without safety belts or being crushed by forklifts.
Furthermore, the WSJ interviewed more than 20 current and former workers, including safety managers who had worked at the Hyundai construction site. According to their accounts, there were many inexperienced immigrant workers on site, safety standards were lax, and accidents were frequent. They pointed out that Hyundai Motor Company did not provide proper safety training to workers, and regulatory authorities took almost no effective measures to prevent violations at the site. In particular, they noted that Hyundai Motor Company was pushing the construction at an excessively rapid pace, and with over 100 subcontractors involved, it was difficult to properly enforce safety standards.
As safety incidents continued to occur, the company moved to strengthen on-site safety management. Hyundai Motor Company President Jose Munoz personally visited the construction site immediately after the fatal forklift accident in March to inspect workplace safety conditions. The company also deployed additional safety personnel and conducted a comprehensive safety audit across the entire complex.
Some observers suggest that, following the series of accidents, the focus of local media and labor organizations on safety management and suspicions of illegal employment at the Hyundai plant construction site may have contributed to last month's immigration enforcement action. Previously, on September 4, U.S. immigration authorities raided the Hyundai Motor Company-LG Energy Solution battery plant and arrested and detained 475 people, including over 300 Koreans, as illegal residents. The 300-plus Korean workers were released and returned to Korea after seven days in detention.
At the time, it was pointed out that the U.S. government, while demanding large-scale investments from foreign companies, failed to issue sufficient visas for the workforce needed to build the plant, which was identified as a cause of the situation. However, as repeated fatal accidents and poor safety management at the Hyundai Motor Company Georgia plant have come to light, criticism and demands for improvement regarding the company's overall site operations are also growing.
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