55 workers killed at construction sites in Q1
gettyimagesbank
Fifty-five workers were killed at construction sites in the first quarter of the year, the land ministry said Wednesday, as the country began enforcing a new law that calls for the punishment of company chiefs for serious workplace disasters.
Of the 55 victims, 14 were affiliated with seven major construction firms, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
In the previous quarter, 38 construction workers were killed, with 17 of them working for the country's top 100 builders, ministry data showed.
HDC Hyundai Development reported the largest number of deaths, with six at its construction site in the January to March period, after outer wall structures on a 39-story apartment building under construction in the southwestern city of Gwangju crumbled in January.
"We will launch a special inspection into 15 major construction companies and their related subcontractors by June over these deadly accidents," the ministry said in a release.
In January, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act went into effect in the country, under which owners and CEOs of companies with five or more employees can face a minimum one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to 1 billion won ($792,000) in the event of serious workplace disasters. (Yonhap)