Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae, "226 casualties caused by major accidents in aging industrial complexes over the past 6 years"

123 Major Accidents in Industrial Complexes Over 20 Years Old... 226 Casualties Reported

Deaths in Industrial Complexes Over 40 Years Old Account for 65% of All Major Accident Fatalities

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] On the 11th, a large-scale fatal accident occurred at the Yeosu National Industrial Complex in Jeollanam-do, where an explosion resulted in 4 deaths, raising urgent calls for comprehensive measures and improvements as major accidents continue to occur in aging industrial complexes.

In particular, analysis shows that the majority of casualties from serious accidents within industrial complexes occur in aging complexes.

According to data on the "Status of Serious Accidents by Industrial Complex Age" submitted by Kim Hoe-jae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeonnam Yeosu City Eul), from the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, 126 serious accidents including industrial disasters, fires, chemical accidents, and explosions occurred over the past six years from 2017 to February 2022 across 64 industrial complexes managed by the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation.

Among the 126 serious accidents, 123 occurred in aging industrial complexes that have been established for over 20 years. This indicates that the vast majority of serious accidents happen in aging industrial complexes.

It is expected that even more accidents occur in aging industrial complexes.

This is because the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation only manages data on serious accidents such as fatal accidents, property damage exceeding 100 million KRW, hazardous chemical leaks, and accidents reported seriously in the media, due to limitations in investigation capacity.

Over the past six years, there have been 230 casualties from serious accidents.

Of these, 226 casualties (98.3%) occurred in aging industrial complexes established over 20 years ago, while only 4 casualties occurred in industrial complexes established less than 20 years ago.

Among the 226 casualties in aging industrial complexes over 20 years old, 99 were deaths and 127 were injuries.

Narrowing the scope to industrial complexes over 40 years old, which are even more aged, the number of casualties was 165, accounting for 71.7% of all serious accident casualties.

The number of deaths from serious accidents in industrial complexes over 40 years old was 66, representing 64.7% of all deaths from serious accidents.

In the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, where a recent explosion caused large-scale casualties, there were 17 serious accidents over the past six years.

The number of casualties from serious accidents in the Yeosu National Industrial Complex reached 25, including 15 deaths and 10 injuries.

Assemblyman Kim Hoe-jae said, "Workers lost their lives again at the Yeosu National Industrial Complex just two months apart," and added, "If proper safety measures had been implemented in the industrial complex, such unfortunate accidents could have been prevented."

He emphasized, "Most industrial complex accidents occur due to aging equipment and outsourcing of risks," and stated, "We will do our best to establish fundamental measures, including the enactment of a special law for national industrial complexes, to prevent such tragedies from recurring."

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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