A fire broke out at the Chosok H.D. shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, on April 27, resulting in the death of a seriously injured worker while he was being treated in the hospital and injuries to a number of others, according to Korean media sources.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor’s Tongyeong Regional Office disclosed on Monday (April 29) that at 9:10 a.m. on April 27, an unidentified explosion triggered a fire at the Chosok H.D. Shipyard in Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam Province, South Korea. At the time of the incident, A, a subcontractor worker in his 60s, was cleaning oil with thinner in the engine room of a ship to be repaired.
The accident caused serious injuries to A, who was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead at 10 a.m. on April 28. At that time, four workers, including A, were seriously injured, and another seven workers were sent to the hospital for treatment with minor injuries.
Chosok H.D. Shipyard, which was ordered to shut down immediately after the fire, has more than 50 regular employees and is subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act.
The Korean Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) is currently investigating the specifics of the accident and whether there were any violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act.
It is understood that Korea’s Serious Accident Punishment Act came into effect on January 27, 2022 for implementation. The Act stipulates that owners or managers who violate their duty to establish a safety and health management system will be punished if a major disaster occurs, such as the death of an employee: If an employee dies at work, the employer or the person in charge of management shall be sentenced to more than one year of imprisonment or a fine of up to 1 billion won, or both imprisonment and a fine; the responsible corporate representative or organization shall also be sentenced to a fine of up to 5 billion won.
Due to the frequent occurrence of serious accidents in the Korean shipbuilding industry this year, the Korean industry has pointed out the need for the country’s shipbuilders to take further measures (such as the compilation of a manual on serious accidents) to strengthen safety management.
To prevent major production accidents, Korea’s MOEL has also specified Geoje City, Gyeongsangnam Province, where shipyards are concentrated, as a special management area for major disasters, and is implementing special measures such as special supervision and diagnosis of safety and health systems. Meanwhile, local-level governments are also providing support for the safe development of the shipbuilding industry. Gyeongsangnam-do is taking a translational approach to promoting safety and health training at shipbuilding sites.
Despite the fact that the Geoje City has been designated as a “priority area,” shipyards located in the area continue to have accidents, which means that there is still a need to improve the safety management awareness of the shipyards, the government, and the subcontracting companies.