POSCO Group launches industrial hazard task force amid series of fatal accidents

POSCO E&C CEO Chung Hee-min, left, bows in apology during a press conference in Songdo, Incheon, Tuesday, on a series of fatal accidents at the construction firm's sites. Yonhap

POSCO Group said Wednesday it will establish a group-wide special safety task force to strengthen safety management across operations following a string of fatal industrial accidents at its sites.

According to the group, the task force will be launched Friday and will report directly to Chairman Chang In-hwa. It will be responsible for conducting a comprehensive review of safety managements and practices across the group's steel, energy materials and infrastructure operations.

On Monday, a worker in his 60s was killed after becoming trapped in a drilling machine at a highway construction site in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province, overseen by POSCO E&C. It marked the fourth fatal accident at POSCO E&C sites this year.

President Lee Jae Myung addressed the accidents during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, saying that fatal workplace accidents can be seen as far as "murder through willful negligence," while ordering Cabinet members to come up with ways to prevent industrial accidents.