At Celltrion's Plant 2 in Songdo, Incheon, a subcontracted worker in their 20s fell during work and died. The accident occurred just a month after the employment authorities selected Celltrion as an excellent participant in the Large and Small corporations safety and health win-win cooperation project.
With a fall accident of a type that repeatedly occurs in manufacturing sites taking place at a large corporations business site with government certification, questions are being raised about whether Celltrion's safety management system was actually functioning properly on the ground.
This is not the first time a partner company worker was injured while working at Celltrion's Songdo Plant 2. In Sept. 2023, sulfuric acid leaked at an external waste storage facility at the plant, and two workers affiliated with a partner company suffered burns to their arms and legs. Because a subcontracted worker again became the victim in this accident, the legal determination of the scope of the prime contractor's responsibility for managing and supervising partner company work is expected to be a key issue.
◇ How far does safety management responsibility for subcontracted work extend… "On-site execution," not manuals, is the standard
According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency's violent crimes unit and the Incheon Fire Headquarters on the 23rd, at about 11:04 a.m. the day before, Mr. A, a man in his 20s, fell to the ground about 3 meters below from a structure inside Celltrion's Plant 2 in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Found in cardiac arrest, A received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and was taken to a hospital but died.
At the time of the accident, A was working on insulation and leak-related tasks for a wastewater pipeline route on top of the main gate canopy structure, and police believe A fell when a first-floor ceiling panel broke during the work.
Police view A as a day-labor subcontracted worker and are verifying the exact affiliation and employment structure. They also plan to request an autopsy from the National Forensic Service and question on-site personnel to determine compliance with safety rules and where management responsibility lies.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) also issued an order to stop the work immediately after the accident. The regional serious accident investigation division and the metropolitan industrial accident prevention supervision division at the Jungbu Regional Employment and Labor Office were dispatched to the site to begin an investigation, and the ministry plans to continue with witness interviews and more.
The ministry is focusing on whether there were violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Celltrion said, "We completed pre-safety procedures and equipment checks at the time of the accident," but whether the relevant manual actually worked on site is expected to be a major standard for judgment.
Courts have also ruled in similar cases of subcontracted worker fall deaths that merely formal safety management procedures make it difficult to avoid responsibility.
The Changwon District Court ruled in June last year, in a case where a subcontracted worker died after falling during ship repair, that if basic fall prevention equipment such as safety railings and lifelines was not installed at a level that actually functioned, it is hard to deem that the duty to prevent industrial accidents was fulfilled.
It also said that if there is a history of similar industrial accidents at the same business site, whether recurrence prevention measures were implemented should be judged more strictly.
◇ Labor ministry says "benefits for excellent corporations can be withdrawn"… Celltrion says "full review of on-site safety management"
Celltrion was selected last month as an excellent corporations participant in the Large and Small corporations safety and health win-win cooperation project organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (KOSHA). It was recognized for helping spread a partner company-centered voluntary safety management system last year by providing consulting and safety supplies to partner firms.
Corporations that participate in the project and are selected as excellent corporations receive some administrative incentives, such as a deferral of regular inspections. However, with a fatal accident occurring just a month after selection, observers say this could affect whether related benefits are maintained. A ministry official said, "The status of excellent corporations, as well as the incentives provided, can be withdrawn if a serious accident occurs."
In a statement that day, Celltrion said, "We express our deepest condolences to the partner company worker who lost their life in the accident that occurred during work on the Songdo campus and to the bereaved family," adding, "We will faithfully cooperate in identifying the cause of the accident and in the investigations by relevant agencies and do our utmost to prepare measures to prevent recurrence." The company said it will "conduct a full review of the safety management system at work sites on the campus."