[2020 National Audit] 625 Fatal Accidents in the Past 5 Years at KEPCO and Power Plants... 'Outsourcing of Risk' Still Prevails

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Despite social demands for strengthening workplace safety management and efforts to improve related systems, safety accidents continue to occur.

According to data submitted by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), and power generation subsidiaries to Rep. Eom Tae-young of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee, a total of 625 casualties occurred at KEPCO, KHNP, and power generation subsidiaries over the past five years, with 42 deaths among them.

In particular, even after the 2018 incident involving the late Kim Yong-gyun, 240 casualties occurred, resulting in 13 deaths. Among these 13 fatalities, 12 (92.3%) were subcontractor employees.

Among the 42 deaths from safety accidents over the past five years, only one was a headquarters employee, while 41 (97.6%) were subcontractor employees.

The accident status by power generation company over the past five years shows that KEPCO had the highest number of casualties at 255, followed by KHNP with 157, Jungbu Power with 61, Namdong Power with 56, and Nambu Power with 52.

Examining the types of fatal accidents since the late Kim Yong-gyun’s incident, there were 6 cases of falls, 3 cases of electric shock, and a total of 13 cases including falls, entrapment, and fires, indicating that safety management at the site is still inadequate.

Rep. Eom stated, "Basic measures to prevent accidents, such as working in pairs, equipping safety gear, and securing hazardous facilities, were often not implemented, leading to tragic accidents. Attention was only briefly paid at the time of accidents, resulting in superficial administrative actions, and the issue of 'outsourcing of risk' has not been resolved."

He added, "It is necessary to create a safe working environment and system based on a fundamental shift in awareness that prioritizes workers' safety, and to make thorough efforts to uphold these standards."

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