Chairman Choi Jung-woo: "Heavy Responsibility for Gwangyang Steelworks Accident... Will Fully Commit to Follow-up Measures"

At around 4 p.m. on the 24th, the 119 rescue team is inspecting the accident site at the POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks in Jeonnam, where an explosion occurred. Three people died in this accident. Photo by the Fire Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Choi Jung-woo, Chairman of POSCO, expressed "deep apologies for the oxygen piping equipment accident at the Gwangyang Steelworks."

On the afternoon of the 25th, Chairman Choi stated in an apology letter, "We pray for the souls of the employees who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident at the Gwangyang Steelworks, and extend our deepest condolences and apologies to their families."

POSCO reported that on the previous day (24th), an accident occurred at the No. 1 blast furnace of the Gwangyang Steelworks, where three on-site workers died while operating an oxygen valve. On December 24th of last year, two explosions occurred at five-minute intervals at a test power generation facility next to the ferromanganese plant (a sub-material production facility that adjusts molten iron components by combining iron and manganese), injuring five employees of the affiliated Industrial Science and Technology Research Institute with serious to moderate injuries.

Also, in June of the same year, an explosion occurred during maintenance work on a 45-ton reduced iron storage tank at the nickel extraction plant, causing a subcontractor employee to fall 8 meters to their death and injuring a worker in their 30s. Following a series of safety accidents at POSCO, a Safety Innovation Emergency Task Force (TF) is currently operating to prevent recurrence.

Chairman Choi expressed, "We are deeply devastated and heartbroken over the precious lives lost at our workplace," and added, "We sincerely apologize for causing concern and worry to the local community watching over us."

He also stated, "We have established an accident response team and are cooperating with relevant authorities to accurately identify the cause of the accident and to swiftly manage the situation with our utmost efforts."

He further added, "We extend our deepest condolences to the deceased and their families, and will devote all our efforts to follow-up measures with a strong sense of responsibility."

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