Hyundai E&C faces possibility of punishment over industrial accident
Hyundai E&C CEO Yoon Young-Joon
By Park Jae-hyuk
Hyundai E&C could become the first major builder to be punished for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act after a fatal accident at its bridge construction site in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, industry officials said Sunday.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, a subcontracted forklift signalman at the site died last Wednesday, after falling from three meters above the lower part of the bridge, while moving the lid on an opening for ventilation and skylight.
The act, which went into effect on Jan. 27, states that the owner or chief manager of a company can face jail time and the company can be fined, if a fatal industrial accident occurs at a worksite where the company has not taken sufficient safety measures.
The labor ministry began investigating Hyundai E&C after the accident, immediately ceasing its bridge construction. The ministry acknowledged that the construction site is subject to the new law, given that the builder has over 50 regular employees and the project costs over 5 billion won ($4 million).
Hyundai E&C has remained cautious over the issue, waiting for the ministry's conclusions.
Industry experts expect the company to engage in a lengthy legal battle against the government, if this case is brought to the court after the ministry concludes its investigation.
“If the labor ministry seeks to punish Hyundai E&C for this case without irrefutable evidence on its violation of safety rules, the company will have no choice but to counteract the ministry,” Korea Research Institute for Construction Policy researcher Lee Eun-hyung said. “Then the conclusion will not come out within a year because the case will most likely reach the appellate court.”
The researcher added that more judicial precedents are needed, as the new law seems to put more priority on “qualitative” methods of evaluating a company's safety measures.
Hyundai E&C's bridge construction site in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, is seen in this file photo. Courtesy of Hyundai E&C
Unionized workers, however, are calling for a prompt punishment for Hyundai E&C.
The Korea Construction Workers Union (KCWU) raised doubts about safety standards at Hyundai E&C's bridge construction site, refuting the company's claims.
“Hyundai E&C said it did not order works at the section where the accident occurred. It also claimed that it is difficult to open the lid which is fixed with nails,” the KCWU said in a statement. “If Hyundai E&C did not order works as it said, it means that the company was negligent in supervising the site. It is also hard to believe that a subcontracted worker arbitrarily used tools to open the lid without receiving any order.”