The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced on the 29th that POSCO Engineering & Construction would begin special supervision of all construction sites nationwide.
This follows the death of a worker at the construction site of the Ham-an~Changnyeong Expressway, where the worker reportedly became stuck in a drilling machine during ground drilling work on the 28th.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor ordered an immediate work stoppage for the relevant work and the overall slope reinforcement work after the accident occurred. Additionally, they demanded a work stoppage for all sites using similar drilling machines operated by POSCO Engineering & Construction, while requiring reports on internal inspections and improvements to deficiencies.
This accident marks the fourth fatal incident at POSCO Engineering & Construction sites this year. ▲ January: A fall incident at an apartment construction site in Gimhae (1 death) ▲ April: A collapse incident at the Gwangmyeong Shin-Ansan Line tunnel site (1 death, 1 injury) ▲ Also in April: A fall incident at a mixed-use building site in Daegu (1 death).
The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to conduct industrial safety and health inspections at all approximately 65 sites of POSCO Engineering & Construction, excluding 37 sites that have already been inspected.
At the same time, they announced a swift investigation into potential violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act by POSCO Engineering & Construction. Minister Kim Young-hoon noted, "It is unacceptable for developing country-type accidents to repeatedly occur at large construction companies like POSCO Engineering & Construction (ranked 7th in construction capability)" and pointed out, "Despite having already undergone concentrated supervision after three serious accidents, another incident has occurred, indicating systemic problems with safety management at the headquarters and the CEO."