[2021 National Audit] Employment Minister on Hwacheon Daeyu's 5 Billion Won Retirement Pay: "There Are Aspects That Are Difficult to Understand"

October 6 Labor Committee Employment Ministry Audit

"Industrial Accident Data Submission Guidance... Necessary Measures"

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk responding to questions from committee members during the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee's audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor held at the Government Sejong Complex on the morning of the 6th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] An Kyung-duk, Minister of Employment and Labor, said on the 6th that it is "difficult to understand from the perspective of the general public" that the son of independent lawmaker Kwak Sang-do received a retirement allowance of 5 billion won from Hwacheon Daeyu, which led the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, citing industrial accident compensation and other reasons.

Minister An made this remark in response to a related inquiry by Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Jong-sung during the Employment and Labor Ministry's audit at the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee held at the Government Complex Sejong in the morning.

According to data recently submitted by the Central Regional Employment and Labor Office to lawmaker Lim, Hwacheon Daeyu has not reported any industrial accidents to the labor office since its establishment in 2015.

According to the Industrial Safety and Health Act, if an industrial accident death occurs, or if a person suffers an injury requiring more than three days of leave or contracts a disease, the employer is required to prepare an industrial accident investigation report within one month and submit it to the local employment and labor office. However, there are no related records.

Lawmaker Lim pointed out, "Considering the amount (received by Kwak's son), it is presumed to be due to illness, so there is an obligation to report the occurrence of an industrial accident, but there was none," adding, "If there was none, isn't it concealment of an industrial accident? Especially since both the injured party and the employer acknowledge the industrial accident, a thorough investigation must be conducted."

In response, Minister An said, "On the 1st, the Seongnam branch of the Employment and Labor Ministry guided Hwacheon Daeyu to submit the industrial accident investigation report to verify the facts," adding, "Based on the results, we will take necessary measures such as investigating unreported cases."

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