After a series of incidents in which three workers died at its business sites this year, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will halt production across all plants for three days starting on the 29th and carry out special safety training and on-site inspections.
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries said on the 27th it will suspend shipbuilding work at all plants from the 29th to the 31st.
On the 29th, the company will conduct special safety training for all employees, and from the 30th for two days it will redo risk assessments at all business sites. It will also conduct a full inspection of high-risk tasks, safety and disaster-prevention facilities, and working conditions.
Processes where hazards are found in the inspection will not operate until corrective measures are completed. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries plans to resume production only after confirming that the hazards identified at the work site have actually been removed.
This is the third time this year that HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has simultaneously halted production across all plants after a fatal accident. On Apr. 9, a fire broke out inside a Navy submarine undergoing maintenance at the Ulsan shipyard, killing one worker from a partner company. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries halted production across all plants for a day on the 15th of the same month and conducted special safety training.
On the 18th, a worker in his 20s from Uzbekistan employed by a partner company died after being trapped between a structure and a gondola while working inside the cargo hold of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier at the Ulsan shipyard. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries halted production across all plants for a day on the 21st, three days after the accident.
Then on the 24th, at the panel plant of the Gunsan shipyard, a worker died after being trapped between a lug and a lug installation device known as a lug applicator. The Gunsan branch of the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office issued a partial work-stoppage order for the entire panel plant assembly line the next day. Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) are investigating the cause of the accident and whether safety measures were implemented.
An HD Hyundai Heavy Industries official said, "We deeply feel heavy responsibility for the recent safety accidents and sincerely apologize to citizens and workers for causing concern," and added, "We will resume operations only when safety at the site is secured."