ED Deaths from industrial disasters

Time to rectify large companies' neglect of workplace safety

Last Monday, another worker died in an industrial accident at POSCO's Pohang Steel Works. The worker, an employee at one of POSCO's partner companies, got stuck while a piece of heavy machinery was being changed at a raw material dock. It was the second death at the nation's largest steelmaker in little more than a month. On Dec. 9, a similar industrial accident occurred there, taking the life of an employee from a subcontracted firm. More than 10 employees of POSCO and its partner firms have died in industrial accidents over the past three years.

All of this shows more than just insensitivity to safety. In fact, it reflects almost the neglect of safety. Calls have been mounting recently to prevent industrial mishaps, as seen by the legislation of an act to punish serious safety accidents at workplaces. However, accidents and deaths have never stopped in industrial fields. On Feb. 5, a fatal accident occurred at Hyundai Heavy Industries. The shipbuilder is also one of the companies where deadly industrial accidents occur frequently. If large companies like these ignore workplace safety, one can easily imagine how dismal the situation might be at small and mid-sized firms.

A report on industrial disasters in 2019 released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor included the names of many large, well-known businesses, such as Daewoo Engineering and Construction (E&C), POSCO E&C, HDC Hyundai Development Company and Hyundai Steel. No fewer than 116 companies and workplaces, including POSCO and GM Korea's Changwon Plant, have failed to report industrial accidents two or more times over the last three years. Faced with a serious neglect of industrial safety by large businesses, the National Assembly has decided to hold a hearing Feb. 22.

However, eight out of 10 workplaces that were exempt from recently strengthened punitive laws employ fewer than 50 workers. Lawmakers should tighten the law so that no company is allowed to slip through legal loopholes. The government should also enhance its monitoring of on-site supervision at workplaces with frequent industrial accidents. Most importantly, large businesses need to strengthen safety management, recognizing that the lives and safety of workers are more important than work speed and job performance.