Minister of Employment Visits 42-Story Apartment Construction Site, Urges "Closing Safety Management Blind Spots in Subcontracting"

Visit to Apartment Construction Site in Sejong City
"Emphasizing Safety Management for Industrial Accident Prevention in Primary and Subcontractors"
Message to Prevent Subcontractor Industrial Accident Fatalities
Before Legislative Notice of Serious Punishment Act Enforcement Decree
Strengthening Special Inspections to Prevent Recurrence of Pyeongtaek Port Accident

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] An Kyung-duk, Minister of Employment and Labor, emphasized on the 8th, "Large-scale construction sites have many subcontractors and affiliated workers, raising concerns about blind spots in safety management, so organic coordination of work between primary contractors and subcontractors is absolutely necessary."

On this day, Minister An visited the 'Administrative City 1-5 Living Zone Woomeerin New Construction Project' site in Sejong City and made these remarks. The Woomeerin new construction site involves building three residential-commercial complex apartment buildings with three basement floors and 42 above-ground floors, making fall prevention and construction machinery facility management critical.

Minister An observed site officials analyzing major hazardous processes to identify risk factors and implementing a prior work permit system for fire risk factors. He also checked the management system that frequently monitors wind speed to prevent high-rise workers from being blown away by the wind and stops work during strong winds.

At the site, Minister An stressed, "Organic coordination of work and the establishment of a cooperative system between primary contractors and subcontractors are absolutely necessary for safe work."

He urged, "Primary contractors must actively ensure that safety facilities are properly installed and guide workers to wear protective gear and comply with safety rules."

He also requested, "Subcontractors, who are closest to the workers, must check the installation and wearing status of safety facilities and protective gear through safety meetings before work."

Earlier, on the 4th, Minister An stated, "From now on, workplaces where serious accidents such as worker deaths occur must immediately stop work," adding, "Work will only resume when worker representatives and experts confirm safety." This is to prevent a tragedy like that of the late Lee Seon-ho, a young worker who died in an industrial accident at Pyeongtaek Port, emphasizing that an organic collaboration system between primary contractors and subcontractors must function at the site.

With the legislative notice of the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act approaching, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor continuously strengthening inspections and labor supervision of industrial accident deaths, the minister is directly clarifying the responsibility between primary contractors and subcontractors.

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