After a series of casualties this year, South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) issued a partial shutdown order early last month after another outsourcing worker fell to his death from a height at the Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard.
On January 12, an explosion at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje shipyard killed an outsourcing worker. According to a statement from related agencies and Hanwha Ocean, an explosion occurred at the ship rudder manufacturing plant of the Geoje Shipyard at around 3:20 p.m. on January 12. A 28-year-old worker was hit by debris and died of his injuries after being taken to a hospital.
On the 24th of the same month, a worker of Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard died while diving. According to Hanwha Ocean and the Korea Metal Workers Union, a 31-year-old worker was found unconscious at 4:15 p.m. on January 24 while diving to remove objects from the ship. He was later taken to the hospital for rescue and pronounced dead at 5 p.m. on the same day. It should be noted that the worker was not qualified to work as a diving technician.
On August 19, a paint worker (in his 60s) at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard was found unconscious near the engine room of a ship under construction at dock No. 1. The worker was taken to a hospital but was declared dead.
As the number of casualties continued to rise, MOEL conducted a special labor inspection on Hanwha Ocean and 102 of its partners. The special inspection is specifically aimed at enterprises that have three or more deaths due to accidents within a year.
According to MOEL, 61 violations were found as a result of the inspection, including failure to install safety barriers or substandard guardrails; Fall hazard places have not implemented fall protection measures; Stairway is not up to standard; The rated load is not displayed for transporting heavy objects; No explosion-proof rescue machinery, equipment, etc. The MOEL took judicial action for 46 of the violations and imposed a fine of 266 million won on 15 of them.
There was a falling accident again, and twice applied for resumption after stopping
However, on the 9th of last month, a casualties occurred in Hanhua Ocean again. A 30 -year -old worker fell from 30 meters at night when he loaded his operation at night. After the accident, the MOEL Tongyeong-si Area Office immediately issued a suspension order for the work of involved (lashing bridge installation).
After 11 days of the accident, Hanhua Ocean applied for resumption. The MOEL
Office held a meeting of the review committee to decide to reject the application for the suspension of the Hanhua Ocean to lift the stoppage order. The review committee is composed of five internal and external experts of the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Welfare, which is based on the “lack of specific measures for anti -falling and the structure that does not have the overall tie bridge (the structure used for loading and fixed containers).” , Reject the application for the suspension of Hanhua Ocean.
One month after the accident, Hanhua Ocean applied for resumption and was approved by the MOEL. The approval of resumptions caused controversy and criticism. Some Korean media pointed out that there are still dangers in the factory area involved. For example, there are hidden dangers in the security guardrail, and the protection network gap is too large, where the workers may fall. The approval of the employment of the Ministry of Labor for the MOEL was also questioned as “biased towards large enterprises.”
Announce the investment of tens of billions and build a safe shipyard
After frequent safety accidents, Hanhua Ocean issued a formal apology and announced that it would invest 2 trillion won (about 10.3 billion yuan) in three years by 2026 to build a security system to build the “world’s safest shipyard”.
Specifically, the routine budget intends to increase the safety of the working environment from 321.2 billion won in 2023 to 350 billion won in 2023, 380 billion won in 2025, and 400 billion won in 2026 (about 3 of about 3 $ 100 million).
The investment budget of new safety facilities is divided into six areas to fundamentally improve the safety system. Including the establishment of an intelligent security management system, replacement of old facilities and equipment, establishing advanced security culture, establishing a safety college centered on experiential education, providing security support for suppliers, and regular safety assessment through external experts.
In addition, Hanhua Ocean also announced that it will conduct a more thorough security compliance inspection. The inspection will be performed twice a year in the company and will perform 23 strategic tasks prescribed by the Norwegian Class -grade society to obtain the quantitative evaluation (ISRS) rating of the highest international security management system in South Korea.
It is worth mentioning that due to the constant casualties, on the 16th of this month, Zheng Renxuan, the president of the Hanhua Ocean Jiji Ship Factory, was questioned at the government audit meeting. During this period, Zheng Renzheng and the Korean women’s group Newjeans member Hani smiled and took a selfie, which caused strong criticism. Subsequently, Hanwha Ocean issued an apology statement again.
