Yesterday, the work site had the upper guardrail removed. In that situation, I was wearing a safety belt, but I didn't fasten the hook. I downplayed the risk, thinking, "It'll be over in a moment."
This is a new scene appearing during roll call at the Ulsan shipyard of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries starting this month. A worker who broke a safety rule the day before stands before coworkers and makes a direct presentation. Since the 1st, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has implemented a system in which a worker who violates the core safety rules, the "absolute rules," presents at the pre-job meeting on the rule violated, the situation at the time, and the reason for the decision. In two weeks, six people have stood before their coworkers. On site, some are saying this is like a "public letter of apology."
The reason a program to tighten safety is stirring debate among employees is that measures for violations have gone beyond personal warnings. Previously, the violator was handled through training or discipline; now, responsibility and follow-up measures have expanded to the organizational level.
In particular, failing to fasten a safety belt leads to a work stoppage, and the scope widens with repeated violations. For a first violation, those receiving the same work instructions as the violator stop; for a second, the entire section to which the violator belongs and its partner firms; for a third, the department above the section and all its partner firms halt work. As the structure now allows a mistake to stop the work of nearby coworkers and even partner companies, the burden workers feel has changed in nature.
The company also has urgent reasons. A shipyard, where high-altitude work, heavy equipment, and hot work are intertwined, is a place where a small lapse can immediately lead to a life-threatening accident. That is why HD Hyundai Heavy Industries introduced the absolute rules in Jul. 2016—covering life-or-death practices such as banning smartphone use, complying with in-house speed limits, and wearing safety belts—and has applied a zero-tolerance principle to violations.
There has been an effect. The fatality rate per 10,000 workers averaged 0.943 from 2000 to 2016 before the absolute rules, and fell to an average of 0.595 from 2017 to 2025 after implementation. Even so, safety belt violations—directly tied to fatal falls—have been hard to eradicate and still account for about 70% of all absolute rule violations. This is why the expanded work stoppage is being applied only to safety belt violations.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries says the presentations are designed not as punishment but as a forum to discuss prevention. The presenter's materials are prepared with the affiliated department, and after the presentation, members review risk factors and improvement plans under the supervision of managers. The company said, "Rather than singling out individuals, we focused on analyzing violation causes to establish a safety culture that prevents recurrence," adding, "We will fully listen to employees during operations and make improvements to avoid misunderstandings."
Still, on-site, voices are rising about the burden. They understand the intent, but say it is heavy to disclose one's mistake and even the reasons for the judgment in front of coworkers. Some are calling the organization-wide work stoppage a form of "guilt by association." Among partner company workers, there is worry that a firm's safety violation record could hurt renewal of contracts. In fact, depending on the safety violation, demerit points can be imposed on firms.
The tension between stronger safety management and on-site pushback is a challenge facing the entire shipbuilding industry. Recently at Hanwha Ocean, disciplinary measures such as suspension and pay cuts for workers involved in a crane collision, a platform drop, and an electric shock incident sparked controversy as the union protested that it shifted responsibility for industrial accidents onto individuals.
Order books are swelling thanks to a boom in contracts, but the labor shortage persists. On top of that, even a single fatal accident can trigger a work stoppage order and inspection by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), disrupting entire processes. Accidents must be prevented, but education alone has limits, and strengthening discipline brings on-site resistance—this is the dilemma.
It is natural for a company to respond firmly to safety violations to protect workers' lives. Still, safety systems are effective only when the field accepts and follows them. Whether the new program settles into a voluntary safety culture as intended will ultimately depend on how it is run. As much as increasing the intensity of discipline, the company appears to need to work just as hard to win on-site support.