"No More 'Second Kim Yong-gyun'... Regular Employment for Power Plant Equipment Workers"

Meeting of Vice Ministers on 'Measures to Strengthen Safety in the Power Industry' Chaired by Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination on the 8th
"Reinforcement of Two-Person Teams, Establishment of Autonomous Safety Systems for Hazardous Work... Government to Manage Thoroughly"
"Focused Promotion of Three Major Projects to Protect Citizens' Lives... Efforts to Reduce Industrial Accident Fatalities"

On the 24th, a focused rally urging the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, hosted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, was held in front of the Democratic Party office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Due to Seoul City's ban on gatherings of 10 or more people, only 9 attended the rally that day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Ahead of the 2nd anniversary of the late Kim Yong-gyun on the 10th, the government announced on the 8th that it plans to have public institutions directly hire workers in the fuel and environmental equipment operation sectors as regular employees.

With recent discussions underway on the enactment of the "Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act," the meeting was held to check whether related measures are being properly implemented.

Previously, on December 10, 2018, Kim died three months after joining while inspecting a coal conveyor belt alone at the Taean Thermal Power Plant in Chungnam, operated by Korea Western Power.

On the day, the government held a meeting on the implementation of the "Power Industry Safety Enhancement Plan," chaired by Koo Yoon-cheol, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The meeting was attended by the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Ministry of Employment and Labor.

They checked whether the enhancement plan jointly announced by related ministries last December is being properly implemented. Recently, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun instructed to thoroughly examine whether safety management at power plants has improved.

First, the government announced plans to have public institutions directly hire workers in the fuel and environmental equipment operation sectors as regular employees. This follows the agreement reached by the labor-management-expert consultative body in May.

A government official said, "To expedite the process, Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and power generation companies are currently jointly consulting with related organizations on follow-up measures."

From this year through next year, a "pilot project for appropriate labor cost payment" will be promoted to improve the treatment of subcontracted workers in the routine maintenance sector.

The government official added, "We also plan to review institutionalizing measures so that subcontracted workers at power plants can receive appropriate wages through research projects and other means."

They have also improved workplace accident risk factors such as safety fences and lighting. Dangerous tasks are no longer left to be done alone. An additional 411 personnel were hired to ensure work is done in pairs.

The related ministries agreed that there are still areas to be supplemented to prevent industrial accidents within power plants.

Going forward, safety facilities will be continuously improved to prevent falls and entrapment accidents, and an autonomous safety system for hazardous tasks involving cargo trucks and others within power plants will be established.

In the event of serious accidents such as deaths, the five power generation companies?Western, Central, Southeast, Southern, and East-West Power?will closely share related information to prevent similar accidents.

To strengthen the emergency patient rapid rescue system, they will secure handover points for doctor helicopters and conduct regular simulation drills. The establishment of affiliated clinics within power plants and a Central Safety and Health Support Center is also under consideration.

Director Koo expressed regret, saying, "Although several positive changes such as the reinforcement of two-person teams and the application of the revised Industrial Safety and Health Act at sites were underway, unfortunate accidents occurred during the process of institutional and awareness improvements settling in the field."

He said, "The government will make every effort to firmly establish the idea that 'safety' is the top priority at the site. Related ministries will thoroughly re-examine safety management at power plants, and power plants themselves must take responsibility for industrial accidents."

He continued, "The Office for Government Policy Coordination will take the lead in ensuring that the 'Power Industry Safety Enhancement Plan' is properly implemented on site," and emphasized, "We will also focus on promoting the 'Three Major Projects to Protect Citizens' Lives' to reduce industrial accident deaths in a way that the public can feel."

The government is implementing three major projects?the "Comprehensive Traffic Safety Plan," "Industrial Accident Death Reduction Plan," and "National Suicide Prevention Action Plan"?to halve deaths in the three major areas of traffic, industrial accidents, and suicide by 2022.

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