The Ministry of Employment and Labor has initiated intensive oversight of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, following a series of fatal entrapment accidents. Although the company has implemented emergency measures such as a safety shutdown, it has yet to announce specific follow-up actions to prevent further incidents.
According to industry sources, two workers died in entrapment accidents at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan and Gunsan shipyards on July 18 and 24, respectively. This brings the total number of officially recorded fatalities from serious accidents at the company to 479 since its founding.
The Ministry has deployed a total of 62 inspectors to oversee the Ulsan and Gunsan shipyards, as well as the headquarters and other high-risk facilities identified in 2026. The inspection team includes officials from local labor offices and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.
The Metal Workers' Union of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries issued a statement following the entrapment accidents, claiming, "We reported the issue of unauthorized modifications and removals of safety mechanisms to the Ministry of Employment and Labor in January 2025, but the case was dismissed without charges. There has been no news on special safety inspections, and the company and the Ministry are complicit in ignoring our warnings about foreseeable accidents."
The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "We will closely monitor the implementation of improvement measures following the accidents, the effectiveness of the safety management system at the headquarters level, and the adequacy of risk assessments across the company."
It added, "We will take strict action against any violations identified during the inspections, including immediate legal action, and we will guide the company to develop tangible measures that can be felt on-site for necessary improvements."
Furthermore, the Ministry emphasized that due to the recurrence of similar fatal accidents, the oversight will not be a one-time event. They plan to conduct follow-up inspections to ensure the sustained implementation of improvements.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries conducted a 'Safety Shutdown' from July 29 to July 31 to fundamentally eliminate serious accidents and assess safety at its facilities.
On July 29, the company held special safety training for all employees, and from July 30 for two days, it halted production across all facilities to re-evaluate risks and conduct comprehensive inspections of high-risk processes, as well as improve safety and disaster prevention equipment and working conditions.
At that time, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries expressed, "We feel a heavy responsibility for the recent safety accidents and sincerely apologize to the citizens and workers for the concern caused. We will focus all our efforts on resuming operations only when safety is secured and creating a workplace where all workers, including our partners, can work with peace of mind."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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