"Yoon Seok-yeol's remark 'Not following the rules'... Ruling party: 'Blaming workers for industrial accidents' vs Opposition: 'Devil's editing'"

Yoon Seok-yeol Visits Anyang Accident Site, Says "Mistakes Lead to Tragic Accidents"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, made an urgent visit on the 2nd to a road paving construction site in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province, where three workers died in an accident, and is inspecting the site.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 2nd, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, visited a road paving construction site in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province, where three workers died in an accident, and said, "A terrible incident occurred because basic rules were not followed," sparking controversy. The ruling party criticized Yoon's remarks as "a reckless statement that shifts responsibility onto the workers," while the opposition party pointed out it as "devil's editing."

Earlier, Yoon visited the accident site in Manan-gu, Anyang City, and said, "If they had just simply turned off the ignition and gotten off, that one simple mistake caused a truly tragic accident."

He added, "If the employer did not install disaster prevention facilities in the factory to cut costs, the Serious Accident Punishment Act should apply. This is just a case of the person getting injured themselves, and a tragic incident occurred because basic rules were violated."

However, Yoon further explained, "We need to carefully check how much education on this (compliance with safety rules) has been provided and how thoroughly site supervisors, employers, and labor inspectors have enforced these rules."

The Democratic Party of Korea strongly criticized Yoon's remarks. Shin Hyun-young, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's presidential campaign committee, issued a statement saying, "I am appalled by Yoon's remarks," and pointed out, "Even though Yoon has been openly expressing a distorted view of labor by advocating for 120 hours of work per week, he shifted the cause of the industrial accident entirely onto the workers at the accident site he visited."

Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson for the Democratic Party's presidential campaign committee, also criticized Yoon on Facebook, saying, "He blamed the roller operator, not the company, for the accident and did not even mention the structural causes or institutional measures to prevent such accidents in the industrial field."

He continued, "This remark only proved that Yoon's 'common sense' is 'below the national common sense.' It raises suspicion that this is the true face of a prosecutor who has never personally experienced the value of labor."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, made an urgent visit on the 2nd to a road paving construction site in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province, where three workers died in an accident, and is inspecting the site.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, the People Power Party rebutted, saying, "Yoon's remarks were distorted." Won Il-hee, spokesperson for the People Power Party's presidential campaign committee, said in a statement, "Yoon urgently visited the road paving construction site where three workers died and expressed his sorrow. He promised to establish safety measures in industrial sites to prevent such tragic incidents caused by the failure to follow basic safety rules from happening again."

He added, "The Democratic Party deliberately ignored the full context and intent of Yoon's remarks and maliciously distorted them by saying he claimed 'the person got injured themselves' and that it was a 'ridiculous accident.' The public will understand the Democratic Party's behavior as 'devil's editing.' He also urged, "The Democratic Party should immediately stop the political offensive that undermines the sincerity of the opposition presidential candidate through low-level distortions."

Amid the controversy, Yoon explained to reporters after attending a startup policy talk in the afternoon, "The direct cause of the accident was the roller operator's negligence, but I said that it is necessary to supervise whether the employer provided sufficient education and guidance to prevent such negligence and whether the Labor Office properly conducted education and supervision."

Meanwhile, at around 6:40 p.m. on the 1st, an accident occurred at a road paving construction site in Manan-gu, Anyang City, where three workers were crushed by a roller used for ground compaction and died. The three victims, including Mr. A (two men and one woman), were transported to a nearby hospital in a state of traumatic cardiac arrest but ultimately passed away.

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