[2020 National Audit] Kang Eun-mi Questions Kyungdong Construction Fall Death “A Precious Dream Collapsed Due to Cost” Tears

Kang Eun-mi, Justice Party Member of the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee
Points Out Discrepancies Between Busan Employment and Labor Office Accident Investigation Report and Police/Occupational Safety and Health Agency, Questions "Was the Investigation Properly Conducted?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] “A precious dream of one person was so brutally shattered because of costs.”

Kang Eun-mi, a Justice Party lawmaker belonging to the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, shed tears while questioning the ‘Kyungdong Construction fall death’ incident during the national audit on the 15th. Last October, the late Jeong Soon-gyu, who was working at an apartment construction site, fell to his death while working on a temporary structure installed on the apartment retaining wall.

Kang Eun-mi, Floor Leader of the Justice Party, is attending the leadership meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

During questioning at the Busan Employment and Labor Office, Rep. Kang presented photos of the primary contractor and subcontractor sites on the day of the accident, saying, “The two sites on the day of the accident were the same work site, but their appearances were very different,” and added, “With a small cost and just a few hours, safety measures could have been taken, but (they were not), driving the worker to death.”

She pointed out discrepancies among the investigation reports by the police, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and the Busan branch office. Rep. Kang said, “Comparing the accident investigation reports, the Busan branch office judged that Jeong fell while working on a 2.15m vertical ladder,” adding, “This is the same as the industrial accident investigation form submitted by the employer, Kyungdong Construction.” She continued, “However, both the agency and the police estimated the fall was from a height of 4 meters,” emphasizing, “I doubt whether the Labor Office conducted a proper investigation.”

Rep. Kang further explained, “Since 2016, there have been a total of 39 industrial accidents at Kyungdong Construction, with 2 deaths among them,” and “41% of these were fall-related accidents. After the accident, another fall accident occurred last April.” She criticized, “Despite Kyungdong Construction being a frequent industrial accident workplace, it has been receiving industrial accident insurance premium reductions ranging from 240 million to 450 million KRW annually.”

Kang Hyun-chul, head of the Busan Employment and Labor Office, responded, “Regarding the cause of the accident, a lot of time has already passed and the site conditions have changed, so I’m not sure if we can reinvestigate,” and added, “We will review whether a reinvestigation is possible.”

During the questioning, Rep. Kang said, “I met Jeong’s youngest daughter, who is a middle school student. She said her father always talked about working healthily until her graduation,” and choked up, saying, “He took photos at the site every day saying he would work safely and sent them to his family.” Jeong’s son, Seok-chae, said in a video message that day, “If it were my family, it would be hard to accept a father’s death incident without even knowing the cause,” and added, “Our family has been living in that moment since the time my father passed away.”

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