DL E&C temporarily halted work at construction sites nationwide after a worker was killed at the S-OIL Shaheen Project site in Ulsan. The company said it will resume work in stages after checking safety measures at each site.
According to DL E&C on the 28th, the company has stopped work at construction sites across the country and is drawing up site-specific safety work measures. A DL E&C official said, "We issued related notices to all sites and halted work," and added, "We plan to resume work at sites where we conclude that safety checks are complete and measures are in place."
DL E&C launched a companywide safety inspection because a fatal accident occurred at DL E&C's Shaheen Project site on the 25th. DL E&C disclosed that one person died at the Shaheen Project site. The company said, "The cause of the accident is currently under investigation."
DL E&C reported the occurrence of a serious accident to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) on the day of the incident. Police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) plan to conduct on-site checks and review the cause of the accident and measures to prevent a recurrence.
The Shaheen Project is a large-scale petrochemical complex that S-OIL is building in Ulsan. It is a project to install ethylene production facilities with an annual capacity of 1.8 million tons, and completion had been scheduled for next month. Hyundai Engineering & Construction is participating as the lead manager, and DL E&C, Hyundai Engineering, and Lotte Construction are handling the work as a consortium.
In the construction industry, some interpret DL E&C's decision to halt work at all sites as reflecting awareness of heightened social and legal responsibility for serious accidents. Since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect, investigations and penalties for business sites where fatal accidents occur have been further strengthened. Recently, measures such as restricting bids for public works and other business disadvantages for construction companies where serious accidents occur have also been discussed.
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL), about 600 people died in serious industrial accidents last year, and about half of them occurred in construction.