Government to Accelerate Supervision Before Enforcement of Serious Accident Punishment Act... This Time Targeting Daewoo Construction

Daewoo Construction Supervision with '56 Deaths in 10 Years' Following Taeyoung Construction
Second Case After Serious Punishment Act Enactment
Ministry of Employment and Labor "Comprehensively Addressing Deficiencies, Recommending Improvements and Confirming Implementation"

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced on the 27th that it will begin supervising Daewoo Construction's nationwide sites from the 28th, following Taeyoung Construction, which experienced three industrial accident fatalities this year, as Daewoo Construction has had 56 fatalities over the past 10 years. Ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in January next year, the government strongly recommended Taeyoung Construction's management to completely revise their safety and health policies and plans to accelerate safety supervision at construction sites. The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "We will comprehensively review the deficiencies in Daewoo Construction's safety and health management system, issue initial recommendations, and then verify whether these recommendations have been followed."

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Daewoo Construction is a construction company that experienced fatal accidents for two consecutive years from 2019 to last year. This year, two fatal accidents occurred, prompting special measures. On February 23rd, a worker died after being crushed by rocks at the Unmun Dam Stability Enhancement Project site in Cheongdo-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and on the 14th, another worker lost their life after being caught in a mobile crane at a new residential-commercial complex construction site in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Since 2011, the company has had a total of 56 fatal accidents, making it the only construction company among the top 100 with an average of more than five fatalities annually.

The Ministry plans to inspect whether a safety and health management system covering everything from headquarters to sites is properly established and functioning, similar to the special supervision of Taeyoung Construction's headquarters. Especially ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, the inspection will focus on ▲ the awareness and leadership of the CEO and management regarding safety and health management ▲ safety management goals ▲ personnel, organization, and budget execution systems ▲ risk factor management systems ▲ collection of workers' opinions ▲ enhancement of safety and health management capabilities of subcontractors.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to conduct unannounced visits to Daewoo Construction's nationwide sites to supervise violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act. They will focus on compliance with safety and health rules centered on the three core safety measures: fall prevention, entrapment prevention, and wearing of personal protective equipment. If violations are found, measures such as work stoppage, corrective actions, and legal prosecution will be taken. If necessary, orders to appoint or replace safety managers will also be actively enforced. In the case of Taeyoung Construction, a fine of 204.5 million KRW was imposed for violating the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

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