The Lee Jae-myung administration declared a war on industrial accidents as soon as it took office, but accidents are still occurring one after another at construction sites. With the number of deaths from industrial accidents increasing compared with last year, some in the construction industry say the punishment-centered policy should be shifted.
According to the construction industry and police on the 19th, there were a series of fatal accidents at construction sites just on the 18th. At about 1:22 p.m. that day, rebar collapsed and buried workers at the construction site of the underpass for the Shinansan Line section 4-2 near Exit 2 of Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, killing one and injuring one. POSCO E&C is in charge of the project. Then at about 3:20 p.m., a 27-ton crane toppled at the project to consolidate the connection system at the south end interchange of Jamsil Bridge in Songpa-gu, Seoul, where Samwhan Corporation is the contractor, killing one worker.
After the accidents, the heads of the contractors issued apologies. POSCO E&C CEO Song Chi-young visited the accident site the previous day and said, "I bow my head in deep apology." Samwhan Corporation, a construction affiliate of SM Group, also said in a statement of apology issued under the authority of acting CEO Jeong Hwan-oh that it "will faithfully cooperate with the investigation to identify the cause of the accident."
On the 17th, a worker deployed to a new bank construction near Gaepodong Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, where Bomi Construction was the contractor, died after being struck in the head by a falling object. The same day, at the Busan Jung-gu Opera House construction site, a man in his 40s fell 10 meters from the roof level during work and died. On the 11th, at the Gwangju Metropolitan Library construction site, the collapse of a concrete structure on the roof level buried and killed four workers belonging to a subcontractor. The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's violent crime unit carried out a search and seizure of the contractor, Gu-il General Construction, and labor authorities have booked those involved and are currently investigating.
Despite the Lee Jae-myung administration's pledge from the outset to mobilize national resources to reduce industrial accidents, a series of accidents across the country has raised concerns inside and outside the construction industry about the effectiveness of the policy. Earlier, in a Cabinet meeting, the president singled out POSCO E&C as an example and said, "Repeated accidents are murder by indirect intent," warning of strong measures such as cancellation of construction licenses and bans on public bids. Then in Aug., the administration outright declared a "war on industrial accidents." Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) also said he "would stake his position" on reducing industrial accidents.
POSCO E&C, where an accident also occurred the previous day, has seen a series of accidents large and small this year at sites where it is the contractor. They include a fatal fall at a new construction site in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang, in Jan.; a collapse at a Shinansan Line construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, and a fatal fall at a new mixed-use high-rise site in Daegu in Apr.; a crushing accident at the Hamyang–Ulsan Expressway construction site in Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang, in Jul.; and an electric shock accident at the Gwangmyeong–Seoul Expressway extension construction site in Aug. After the president's reprimand, POSCO E&C appointed safety expert Song Chi-young as president and strengthened on-site safety inspections, but another fatal accident occurred five months later.
The National Assembly is currently considering the Construction Safety Act, which would impose a penalty surcharge of about 3% of sales on construction firms involved in serious disasters. A partial amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act that would additionally impose a penalty surcharge of up to 10% of operating profit is also pending. The government is also pushing strong sanctions under which, if fatal accidents recur at a construction company, its registration would be canceled, and for other industries, permits and licenses would be revoked.
However, despite the government's strong sanctions, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL)'s "status of fatal accidents subject to investigation in the third quarter" released last month, deaths from industrial accidents from January through Sept. increased 3.2% compared with last year. After the relevant statistics were first compiled in 2022 and continued to decline through last year, they turned upward this year for the first time. The totals were 510 in 2022, 459 in 2023, and 443 in 2024, and increased to 457 this year.
Given the situation, the president also expressed frustration. At a luncheon with industrial workers on the 4th regarding fatal accidents at industrial sites, the president said, "We have tried pressuring (corporations), scaring them, investigating them, and scolding them, and large business sites have decreased, but smaller business sites have actually increased," adding, "I don't know why." The president continued, "We are trying to make improvements, but it's not going well," and said, "We will do our best to ensure people do not die or get injured at work."
Experts cite the aging of the construction site workforce and structural problems at small firms as causes. Last year, 42.4% of those who died from industrial accidents were 60 or older, and foreigners, who account for only about 3% of all workers, made up 13.1% of all deaths from industrial accidents. Older workers, who are vulnerable to complying with safety guidelines and operating equipment, and foreign workers, who face communication barriers, are filling the gaps left by young people and becoming victims of accidents.
In addition, there is a shortage of personnel and budgets for safety management, and workers at small firms at the bottom of multi-tiered subcontracting structures are heavily exposed to accidents. Of the 457 total fatalities, 21.7% (99 people) occurred at business sites with fewer than five employees, and 39.0% (178 people) occurred at business sites with 5 to 49 employees. In total, 60.6% (277 people) died at business sites with fewer than 50 employees. In contrast, deaths at firms with 50 or more employees (182 people) fell by 12 (6.2%) during the same period.
A construction industry official said, "As the statistics and field conditions show, raising the level of punishment such as business suspensions and fines for construction firms where fatal accidents occur does not prevent industrial accidents," adding, "For small business sites that cannot appoint safety managers, the state should support personnel and consider prevention-centered policies that remove risk factors before accidents occur."