Police Launch Full Investigation into Explosion Accident at POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks Causing 3 Worker Deaths

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Chunsu] On the 24th, the police have launched a full-scale investigation including on-site inspection regarding the explosion accident at POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks, which resulted in the deaths of three workers.

According to the Gwangyang Police Station in Jeonnam on the 25th, the police, the National Forensic Service, the Yeosu branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the Fire Department's inspection team conducted a joint inspection from 2 p.m. to determine the exact cause of the accident.

The explosion occurred at the oxygen piping facility, which is an auxiliary facility of Blast Furnace No. 1.

The police believe the explosion happened while workers were handling high-pressure gas and operating the oxygen piping open/close valve, but POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks stated that the explosion was caused by a strong oxygen leak due to a crack in the piping.

Accordingly, the police plan to conduct a detailed investigation on this part to verify the shape of the oxygen pipe crack and traces of soot to identify the exact cause of the explosion.

The target and level of punishment may vary depending on the revealed cause of the accident.

The police will also investigate whether the workers and responsible personnel complied with safety regulations during the work and consider whether to apply charges of professional negligence resulting in death to the responsible parties.

In particular, they will examine whether the approximately 40-minute delay in reporting the explosion to the fire authorities was an intentional delay to conceal the accident.

At around 4:02 p.m. on the 24th at POSCO Gwangyang Steelworks in Geumho-dong, Gwangyang-si, Jeonnam, a gray smoke and explosion sound occurred, resulting in the deaths of three people: POSCO employee A (40) and subcontractor employees B (32) and C (53) who were working on site.

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