[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] SEOUL – South Korea’s major corporations are under intense scrutiny following a series of fatal workplace accidents, prompting a stern rebuke from President Lee Jae-myung, who described the incidents as “murder by willful negligence.”



POSCO E&C CEO Jeong Hee-min issued a public apology on July 29 at the company’s Incheon Songdo headquarters after four fatal construction site accidents this year. “We take full responsibility,” Jeong stated, pledging to “rebuild our safety management system and ensure such tragedies never occur again.” POSCO E&C has halted operations at all domestic sites and launched emergency safety inspections after a 60-year-old worker was killed on July 28 when he became trapped in drilling equipment at a highway construction site.



SPC Group also announced measures, including minimizing overnight plant operations and limiting production workers’ shifts to eight hours per day. The move followed President Lee’s July 25 visit to an SPC Samlip plant in Gyeonggi Province, where he noted that recent fatalities all occurred during extended late-night shifts. In May, a female worker in her 50s was fatally caught in a conveyor belt at the same plant.



Despite the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) being in force for over three years, progress has been limited. Ministry of Employment and Labor data show that fatalities at SAPA-covered sites (businesses with over 50 employees or construction projects exceeding KRW 5 billion) rose slightly from 248 in 2021 to 250 in 2023, underscoring the need for stronger safety reforms.
 

 

 

[ⓒ 알파경제. 무단전재-재배포 금지]