Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
After incidents, LG Chem to conduct safety checks
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Chem CEO Shin Hak-cheol
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Chem said Tuesday it will conduct a thorough safety inspection of its 40 factories worldwide for a month, after the company was hit by two recent deadly incidents at manufacturing plants in India and South Korea.
“LG Chem decided to launch an intensive safety campaign in which all the company's manufacturing facilities will be required to pass detailed safety checks. Specifically, LG Chem's 40 business units including 15 in South Korea and 23 overseas are exposed to high risks due to the nature of the chemical business. These facilities will be subject to a thorough safety check for a month before the end of June,” the company said in a statement.
“We will take all available measures to address outstanding issues and fix problems to make improvements needed after the emergency inspection. If it is difficult to rectify problems with the facilities or manufacturing processes in a short period of time, we will temporarily halt operations at the facility or manufacturing plant.”
The statement also stressed the LG chemical affiliate will directly manage a “special management meeting” twice a month. Chiefs of the company's business units, as well as their chief financial officers, human resources officers and those in charge of overall environmental policy will be required to attend the meeting. “The meeting is aimed at setting up detailed evaluation plans for safety checks and to implement updates as quickly as possible.”
The announcement came a few days after LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo issued a rare candid criticism over the fatal accidents in India and South Korea at LG Chem factories in a public apology.
“LG's top management should be held accountable for the latest safety-oriented incidents. We have to go back to the basics that safety is the group's priority. Group management is urgently asked to prepare fundamental measures from scratch,” Koo told executives according to a separate statement issued by LG.
On May 7, a toxic gas leak at the company's Indian unit killed 12 people and injured 1,000. Weeks after, a fire broke out at LG Chem's catalyst lab in Seosan, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, May 19. After the accident, one employee was killed and two suffered second-degree burns.