Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Oct. 17 ordered officials to "make every effort to handle the aftermath" of the explosion at the SK Energy plant in Ulsan.
According to fire authorities, at about 10:42 a.m. that day, a pipeline exploded at the SK Energy plant in Yongyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Ulsan. It is presumed that during routine maintenance on the hydrogen production process inside the plant, hydrogen gas remaining in the pipe ignited and the pipeline exploded. Five people were injured in the accident.
The Gyeongnam Serious Industrial Accident Prevention Center rushed to the scene as soon as the accident occurred and requested a suspension of work on maintenance for the plant's hydrogen purification process where the explosion took place.
In connection with this, the Minister instructed the ministry headquarters and the Ulsan Employment and Labor Office to immediately set up the Central Industrial Accident Response Headquarters and the Regional Industrial Accident Response Headquarters.
The ministry said it will work with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to identify the structural causes of the accident and conduct prompt and rigorous oversight and investigations.