Serious Violations of Safety Management Regulations at Construction Sites in Gyeonggi-do

Storage of hazardous materials inside the construction site

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has uncovered a large number of construction sites violating safety management regulations, such as working without installing safety railings and storing hazardous materials indoors.

The province announced on the 6th that it conducted safety inspections on 22 construction sites across 11 cities and counties in the province from August to December last year to eradicate the practice of ignoring safety at construction sites, uncovering a total of 100 safety management violations.

The main violations included ▲ falsification or alteration of test reports (3 cases) ▲ violations of fire prevention and major structural material quality management regulations (15 cases) ▲ violations of temporary safety facility installation regulations (26 cases) ▲ violations of hazardous material management regulations (21 cases) ▲ violations of construction equipment usage regulations (16 cases) ▲ violations of temporary fire facility installation regulations (7 cases) ▲ construction differing from drawings and specifications (5 cases), among others.

In the case of Construction Site A, despite concerns about water leakage inside the structure due to cracks in the underground retaining wall, which could reduce the strength and durability of the structure, the site was found to have neglected fundamental measures such as structural safety diagnosis by a professional company.

Construction Site B proceeded with the installation of the floor structure deck plate without separate structural design or document review for the materials, citing that they were government-supplied materials.

The province imposed penalty points on supervisors and constructors for negligence in quality management of major structural materials that could cause casualties, in accordance with the Construction Technology Promotion Act and related laws, and requested the relevant permitting cities and counties to take legal action against constructors who poorly managed construction sites, such as violating hazardous material usage regulations, including imposing fines.

Additionally, cases of falsification or alteration of test reports were referred to the police for investigation, and violations of construction equipment usage regulations were reported to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Han Dae-hee, head of the province’s Special Safety Inspection Team, stated, "The cases pointed out in this safety inspection were shared not only with the respective construction sites but also with disaster management authorities in cities and counties across the province to prevent recurrence of problems. We plan to continuously conduct safety inspections and strictly take action against violations to prevent accidents caused by ignoring safety practices at construction sites."

According to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, the number of deaths caused by negligence, non-compliance with safety management regulations, and failure to implement safety management plans at construction sites nationwide was 485 in 2018, with 126 of those in Gyeonggi Province. In the past three years, the province recorded 368 deaths and 19,250 injuries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.