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A team of inspectors at Korea Western Power in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, where an irregular employee was killed during a conveyor equipment accident in December 2018, survey the power plant’s safety conditions on Apr. 3. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

Nearly one full year after the accident that claimed the life of Kim Yong-gyun, an irregular worker employed by a subcontracting business for Korea Western Power, nine out of 10 public and large-scale workplaces were found not yet to have undertaken measures to protect the safety of subcontractor employees. Kim was killed in December 2018 when his body became caught in a conveyor belt rotor for transporting coal; at the time, proper safeguards for worker protection had not been installed.

On Dec. 1, the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) published the results of an inspection of safety rule compliance at 399 workplaces, including public sector construction sites -- which have a high percentage of in-house subcontractor (partner company) employees -- and large private workplaces (100 or more full-time workers). The inspection was carried out as a follow-up effort for public institution workplace safety improvements announced last March in the wake of Kim’s death.

MOEL issued a total of 1,484 orders for corrective action due to the lack of proper safety and health measures at 353 of the workplaces examined, or 88.47%. Combined penalties of over 390 million won were imposed on a total of 260 workplaces, or 65.16%. Usage suspension orders were issued for 12 workplaces using harmful or hazardous machinery and/or equipment such as scaffolds without separate protections.

In terms of individual cases, a power plant operated by one of South Korea’s five public power generation companies in Goseong, South Gyeongsang Province, was found not to have yet installed a safety fence around its coal conveyor belt rotor to prevent workers from being pulled inside. The same power plant also did not have safeguards in place on its overhead crane inspection scaffolding to prevent falls.

During the inspection, large corporation-affiliated factory producing construction materials in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, was found not to have installed height restriction safeguards on the scaffolding used for building exterior repair work. The absence of such equipment could result in the scaffolding continuing to rise even when a ceiling or other structure is located overhead, resulting in workers being caught between the obstruction and the scaffolding.

“We will be implementing regular guidance and inspections every year so that a corporate culture of public institutions and large private companies taking the lead in protecting the lives of subcontractor employees and taking steps for safety can spread to all industry settings,” said Park Yong-man, director of MOEL’s industrial accident prevention and compensation policy bureau.

By Seon Dam-eun, staff reporter

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