In a post on his social media, Minister Kim recalled a saying from his days as a train engineer: "Even a slight mistake can lead to serious injury." He noted that a joint on-site investigation would begin shortly.
According to the Labor Ministry, a joint investigation involving the ministry, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and the National Forensic Service commenced at 10 a.m. on the same day. During the second meeting of the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters, Minister Kim instructed that the investigation be conducted safely and that the cause of the accident be thoroughly identified. He also stressed the need for follow-up measures to prevent future incidents based on the investigation's findings.
Given that this incident qualifies as a serious industrial accident under the Serious Accident Punishment Act, he ordered a swift and strict investigation into violations of industrial safety laws and related regulations, with severe penalties for any infractions.
Additionally, he called for comprehensive emergency safety inspections across booming sectors, including semiconductor and defense manufacturing. This directive follows findings from investigations that revealed a recent surge in contract volumes and a separate incident the previous day involving multiple injuries due to a hydrofluoric acid leak at SK Hynix.
Minister Kim plans to hold a nationwide meeting with agency heads on June 4 to emphasize the importance of safety awareness in workplaces and to encourage local authorities to actively guide and inspect operations.
Earlier, at 10:59 a.m. on June 1, a fire caused by an explosion occurred in the cleaning room of the Hanwha Aerospace facility in Daejeon, resulting in five fatalities, one serious injury, and one minor injury.
This facility had previously experienced explosion incidents in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in the deaths of five and three individuals, respectively. Investigations revealed that safety management was inadequate at the time, leading to convictions for responsible parties on charges of negligent homicide before the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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