Following the deaths of two workers from subcontractors due to entrapment accidents at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan and Gunsan shipyards, labor authorities have initiated a large-scale oversight.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on August 18 that it has begun intensive supervision equivalent to special oversight at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
On July 18, a 20-year-old Uzbek worker from a subcontractor died after becoming trapped between a gondola and the upper structure while working in the cargo hold of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier under construction at the Ulsan shipyard. Six days later, another entrapment accident occurred at the Gunsan shipyard, resulting in the death of a 30-year-old worker from a subcontractor.
In response to the recurrence of similar fatal accidents, the Ministry has decided to conduct a comprehensive review of the company's overall safety and health management system rather than limiting its investigation to individual incidents. The oversight will cover the Ulsan and Gunsan shipyards, the headquarters, and a factory designated as a high-risk workplace earlier this year. The ministry will also expand the oversight team to include personnel from local labor offices.
A total of 62 personnel, including inspectors and staff from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, will be involved in the oversight. The Ministry aims to verify compliance with key safety regulations related to recurring entrapment accidents, as well as incidents of collisions, falls, fires, explosions, and suffocation. It will also check adherence to the overall Industrial Safety and Health Act.
The Ministry will assess whether the improvement measures implemented by the company after the accidents are being effectively enforced on-site. This includes evaluating whether the safety and health management system at the headquarters is functioning properly and whether risk assessments to identify and mitigate hazards before work are being conducted effectively.
If violations are identified, the Ministry plans to take strict legal action. It will also guide the company to develop tangible measures that can be felt on-site. Furthermore, the oversight will not be a one-time event; follow-up inspections will be conducted to ensure that improvements are continuously implemented.
Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon stated, "The recurrence of serious accidents of the same type indicates that the company's safety management system is not functioning properly. We will analyze past serious accidents and near misses to ensure that the major risk factors in the shipyard are being managed effectively." He added, "The government will take action against companies where similar serious accidents occur based on a zero-tolerance principle."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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