청, Pyeongtaek Port Container Accident Petition Response..."Establishing Safety Management System to Prevent Recurrence"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Blue House responded regarding the container accident at Pyeongtaek Port that occurred last April, stating, "We will newly establish and implement a safety management system to prevent the recurrence of disaster accidents."

On the 9th, the Blue House gave this response concerning two national petitions related to the Pyeongtaek Port container fatal accident.

Two petitions related to the accident in which the late Lee Seon-ho died at the Pyeongtaek Port container dock received 170,000 and 90,000 signatures respectively before closing.

The Blue House stated, "Although the number of signatures did not meet the 200,000 required for a response, since this was a tragic fatal accident at a national facility port, we would like to inform the public in detail about the progress and countermeasures taken."

President Moon Jae-in also visited the funeral hall last May and said, "I promised to create a country where workers can live without safety concerns, and I am sorry," and instructed related ministries and agencies to prepare safety measures.

Park Hwa-jin, Vice Minister of Employment and Labor, and Eom Gi-du, Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, who responded, said, "As Korea's economic growth and import-export trade have increased, the volume of port cargo handling has also greatly increased, but the working conditions for port workers were vulnerable, and the safety management system and safety awareness were insufficient." They added, "Since ports are national infrastructure, the government will completely establish and implement a new safety management system to prevent the recurrence of disaster accidents."

They also disclosed the current investigation status. Regarding the late Lee Seon-ho's accident, violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act are being intensively investigated by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, while the police are focusing on whether there was negligence in the line of duty. Additionally, the Pyeongtaek branch of the Ministry of Employment and Labor issued a work suspension order for all heavy cargo handling work using open-type containers at Dongbang Co., Ltd.'s Pyeongtaek branch where the accident occurred. The police have booked five individuals related to the accident on charges of professional negligence causing death and have detained those directly responsible for the accident.

Three rounds of accident site investigations, interviews with those involved, and forensic examinations by the National Forensic Service were conducted. Through these, it was estimated that the accident was caused by a combination of factors including the failure to install fixing pins to prevent the container walls from toppling, lack of proper signaling and guidance, improper use of forklifts, failure to prepare a work plan, and failure to provide protective gear to the injured worker.

Alongside the investigation of the Pyeongtaek Port accident, the government conducted supervision and inspections of port workplaces to prevent similar accidents from recurring. They identified 317 cases of inadequate safety measures such as failure to implement fall prevention measures, ordered corrective actions, and imposed fines. Special inspections were also conducted on Dongbang's headquarters and nationwide branches in May and June, uncovering 197 violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, resulting in legal actions and fines.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Port Authority, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and the Dockworkers' Union designated the period from May 28 to June 30 as a "Emergency Port Safety Inspection" period lasting 35 days to check compliance with safety rules. They are also conducting focused inspections on over 5,000 open-type containers nationwide at ports. Starting September this year, the government plans to operate patrol cars at 31 trade ports at least twice a month to conduct surprise inspections and improve poor safety management sites.

In addition, to prevent further negligence in safety management and worker accidents due to cost-cutting at ports, the government announced a "Special Safety Measures for Port Workplaces" on the 5th. The government stated, "Once again, we offer our condolences to the late Lee Seon-ho, and to ensure that such an accident never recurs, the government will make every effort in supervising and inspecting port workplaces."

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