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| Daewoo E&C CEO nominee Baek Jung-wan, left, and HDC Hyundai Development Company CEO Yu Byoung-gyu / Courtesy of each company |
By Park Jae-hyuk
Daewoo E&C and HDC Hyundai Development Company appear to be less prepared than other major domestic builders for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which goes into effect Thursday. Among the top 10 builders here, they were the only two without a chief safety officer (CSO).
The new industrial accident law states that the owner or chief manager of a company can face a jail term, if a fatal industrial accident occurs when that company's worksite does not take the required safety measures.
Considering the fact that the construction industry faces an especially high risk of fatal accidents, domestic builders have appointed CSOs to take charge of tightening safety measures. Most of them will also halt construction work nationwide from Thursday to the end of the Lunar New Year long weekend, in order to prevent their executives from being the first one punished in accordance with the new law.
Although Daewoo E&C started considering appointing a CSO after increasing the size of its department in charge of safety measures, its executive reshuffle for the appointment has been delayed, amid the ongoing protest from its union that stands against the company's takeover by Jungheung Group.
The union has asked Jungheung to sign a written agreement promising not to appoint outsiders as Daewoo E&C's top executives. However, Jungheung's management has refused to accept the request.
HDC belatedly began looking for a CSO, after a recent accident at an apartment complex construction site in Gwangju, which was under the company's supervision.
Following the lethal accident, HDC established an emergency safety committee comprised of the company's former chief executives. The committee is supposed to compensate victims and come up with safety measures, including the appointment of a CSO and the replacement of executives.
In contrast to Daewoo E&C and HDC, POSCO E&C and GS E&C appointed their CSOs in June 2018 and December 2019, respectively. Hyundai E&C appointed its CSO last October, when enlarging its safety management department.
Samsung C&T and SK ecoplant appointed their CSOs in their year-end executive reshuffles last December, while Hyundai Engineering, Lotte E&C and DL E&C did the same earlier this month. In particular, DL E&C gave its CSO positions to three executives, each of whom supervise plant construction, housing construction and engineering work.
"Although a CSO is not essential for construction firms, an executive-level safety manager and a larger safety management department can raise awareness about safety," a construction industry insider said.
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