Continued Construction Site Fires... Lee Jaegab "Review System Gaps and Prepare Measures"

Icheon Fire Central Accident Response Headquarters Holds Meeting with Related Agencies
Resolve Bereaved Families' Difficulties... Commit to Prompt Compensation Support
Establish Public-Private TF to Devise Measures... "Legal and Institutional Improvements"
Employment Ministry Supervising Implementation... Seeking Strengthened Employer Responsibility Measures

Minister Lee Jae-gap of the Ministry of Employment and Labor. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Lee Jae-gap, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated on the 8th regarding the Icheon logistics warehouse fire accident, "We will review why fire prevention measures did not work at the industrial site and what loopholes exist in the system to prepare countermeasures."

On the morning of the same day, Minister Lee held a meeting with related agencies of the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH) for the Icheon fire, saying, "We will take all possible measures, including revising laws and systems and significantly strengthening on-site inspections."

The meeting was held to check the progress of support for bereaved families and accident response by ministries and local governments and to discuss future measures.

First, under the coordination of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, a task force (TF) team composed of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Fire Agency, and private experts was formed to establish fundamental measures to eradicate fire and explosion accidents at construction sites.

Measures already stipulated by law, such as installing ventilation devices at fire hazard sites, using flame-retardant blankets during welding work, and deploying fire watchers, will be improved to ensure they function properly on-site.

Cooperating with the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and local governments, workplace inspections will be conducted, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor will supervise poor workplaces.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, opinions have been submitted to the Supreme Court to raise the actual punishment standards for employers in industrial accident death cases, and various measures to strengthen employer punishment will be reviewed in the future.

System improvement plans such as strengthening standards for internal insulation and other building materials and guaranteeing appropriate construction periods will also be examined.

Furthermore, the meeting agreed to strive to resolve the requests and difficulties of bereaved families and to thoroughly identify the causes of the accident along with the responsibility for supervision and management.

Currently, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are conducting joint forensic investigations and witness interviews, and they are explaining the progress of the investigation to the bereaved families.

The CARH will support smooth compensation negotiations between victims, bereaved families, and employers, and will guide that industrial accident claims can be filed even before negotiations to process them as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, those responsible for the accident will be strictly held accountable according to the law, regardless of whether they are primary or subcontractors or clients. Since the day before, the Ministry of Employment and Labor has been conducting special and emergency inspections targeting the headquarters of the primary contractor of the Icheon accident, the construction site, and other sites with fire and explosion risks.

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