‘Stringent Laws for Factory Safety Needed’
By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Labor authorities have been too lenient in dealing with the results of serious accidents occurring on industrial sites and management should take more responsibility, said a Swedish CEO who runs a leading safety consulting and equipments company.
Hakan Borin, CEO of Pilz Korea, said Korean industrial culture has been too vulnerable to occupational accidents, whereas European companies are forced to maintain a high safety standard by stringent government directives, and American firms risk crippling lawsuits.
``What I think is lacking in Korea is law enforcement on safety implementation. That is less clear than it is in Europe,'' Borin said in an interview with The Korea Times on Tuesday. ``Europe has the most clear responsibility laws in the world. In the United States, meanwhile, the directive is not as strong but you have the `lawyers culture.' So if there is an accident, lawyers will hit you with a lawsuit, resulting in heavy financial penalties.''
In 2005, almost seven people died from accidents or from occupational related diseases every day in South Korea. The death toll was 2,497 that year alone, and the number of people who were injured at work was 85,411. The per capita fatality rate is the highest among OECD nations and is more than double that of Japan and the United States, according to the Ministry of Labor.
``In Korea, you have the Korea Occupational Health and Safety Agency, which has policies that are very similar to European polices. But what I haven't found yet are strict laws,'' he said. ``For instance that a factory manager should be responsible for any accident, so he will be fined, or go to jail in case something happens. That is the major difference between Europe and Korea.''
Borin, who came to Korea in 1983, also points out that the Korean workers themselves are not as safety conscious as their Europe counterparts.
``The (Korean) workers are more risk-prone. They don't think before they act. Also Korea's `bbali bbali (hurry up)' syndrome makes every thing fast. They want to work fast, rather than safe,'' he said. ``The work safety culture is not very advanced in Korea. There is an urgent need to teach safety awareness, how you perform and how cautious you have to be, and how to protect yourself.''
Believing that the awareness of industrial safety will grow to the level of other developed nations, Borin said his firm will look for more business opportunities on Korean soil with the introduction of a new product called SafetyEye, especially in the automobile industry.
Last week, the firm held a seminar on safety automation where some 150 experts participated and shared information. Pilz now boasts a 50-percent share of the factory safety automation market worldwide. It has some 15 percent of the South Korean market, which it intends to increase with the introduction of SafetyEye _ a three-dimensional camera that can detect and prevent hazards at manufacturing sites without cumbersome fences and sensors.
Apart from his business, Borin, who is an ardent mountain biker on weekends, said he agrees to the now defunct tourist slogan of ``Dynamic Korea.''
``For me, it has never been boring. It's been a lot of fun,'' said the Swede. ``Korea is a very cumbersome workplace but at the same time it's very enjoyable. A lot of hard work but a lot of fun _ a lot of soju,'' he said jokingly.