'Yeosu High School Student Diving Work Fatal Accident' Industrial Safety and Health Inspection Begins

"Thorough Supervision of Sanan Act Violations... Strict Punishment Upon Detection"
Up to 7 Years Imprisonment or Fines Up to 100 Million Won

On the afternoon of the 11th, a memorial cultural festival was held for Hong Jung-woon, a third-year student at a specialized high school in Yeosu, who died while diving during a yacht field training at Ungcheon Waterfront Park in Ungcheon-dong, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do. Earlier, on the 6th, Hong had an accident while diving to remove barnacles attached to the bottom of the yacht. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that starting from the 13th, it has begun an industrial safety and health inspection to determine whether the training company of the late Hong Jeong-woon, who died while performing diving work as an on-site trainee, violated the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, after issuing a work stoppage order on the 7th and conducting three accident investigations from the 7th to the 8th targeting the relevant workplace, the industrial safety and health inspection began on this day. Earlier, on the 6th, Hong, a student at a specialized high school in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, died while removing barnacles from the underside of a yacht as an on-site trainee.

In response, on the 12th, during the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee’s audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s affiliated agencies, Kang Eun-mi, a Justice Party lawmaker, pointed out that "two-person team work was not implemented, there was no safety manager, and Hong performed tasks not specified in the training standard agreement." Park Seong-hee, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, replied, "It is judged to be a violation of the Industrial Safety and Health Act."

The inspection involves labor inspectors from the Yeosu Employment and Labor Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor and experts from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. They will focus on Articles 38 (Safety Measures) and 39 (Health Measures) of the law. A thorough inspection will be conducted on all aspects of the law, including violations related to the on-site trainee performing diving work without diving qualifications.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to take strict action if any legal violations are found as a result of the inspection. If a fatal accident occurs due to violations of Articles 38 and 39 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, the penalty is "imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 100 million won." If a fatal accident occurs after violating Article 140 of the same law, the penalty is "imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million won." A Ministry of Employment and Labor official stated, "If violations are discovered, we will take strict measures to ensure that companies hosting on-site trainees pay attention to the safety and health management of the trainees."

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