One Month After the Yeocheon NCC Explosion... Investigation Prolonged and Responsibility Unclear (Comprehensive)

Ministry of Employment and Police Begin Separate Investigations
Cause Identification and Responsibility Attribution Prolonged

Hyundai Steel Accident Halts Coating Line Production
Employees Complain of Overwork and Ban on Leave

Need to Specify Scope of Serious Accident Punishment Act
"Punishment Rules Are Strong... Targets and Mandatory Measures Unclear"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Hyung-gil and Moon Chae-seok] As about a month has passed since the explosion accident at Yeocheon NCC Yeosu Plant, concerns are already rising over the assignment of responsibility.

Since the Serious Accident Punishment Act came into effect in January, this accident resulted in the highest number of casualties, and it is expected to serve as a gauge for the ambiguous provisions of the related law. It is anticipated that legal battles over the responsibility for the accident will follow. There are also complaints that the longer the accident recovery takes, the heavier the burden on companies and employees becomes.

Prolonged Investigation Inevitable... Increased Burden on Companies and Employees

Five people from the company and partner firms have been booked following the explosion accident at Yeocheon NCC’s Plant 3, and detailed forensic investigations to determine the cause of the accident are underway.

The investigation is being conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the police. The police are investigating charges related to professional negligence resulting in death, while the Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act by the safety and health management officer and violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act by the management, deciding on whether to punish the management accordingly.

Not only has the jurisdiction of the investigation been split between the police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but due to the variable of COVID-19, the investigation into Yeocheon NCC is expected to be prolonged. Recently, Yeocheon NCC requested a temporary suspension of the investigation from the police due to confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor, having conducted a search and seizure at the company on the 14th of last month and started a full-scale investigation, insists that the schedule cannot be delayed. However, with the increasing number of accidents subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act, it is expected that the pace of investigations will slow down.

On the 8th, Yeocheon NCC held a temporary Industrial Safety and Health Committee meeting to share the results of the internal accident investigation committee’s investigation period and decided to jointly review the safety and health management system with labor and management. However, even after the explosion accident at Plant 3, overnight work had to be carried out to proceed with maintenance work at Plant 1. This is interpreted as an unavoidable measure to replace equipment that was shut down following the explosion.

Hyundai Steel, which experienced fatal accidents at Dangjin Steelworks and Yesan Plant on the 2nd and 5th respectively, also took measures to strengthen safety levels after the accidents. However, work on the plating line where the accident occurred was halted, and employees have voiced complaints about increased workloads.

Recently, an anonymous workplace community posted that "the Hyundai Steel CEO ordered team leaders and above to prohibit vacations for 100 days and to come to work even on holidays." The employee claimed, "The CEO said, ‘Team leaders and above must work emergency shifts without holidays for 100 days,’ and ‘If serious safety violations occur more than three times, severe disciplinary action will be taken.’"

Extent of Responsibility and Safety Obligations for Partner Firms

The ambiguous legal provisions of the Serious Accident Punishment Act have been controversial since its early implementation. The law punishes management not only for serious accidents involving employees of the affiliated workplace but also for serious accidents involving service and subcontracted workers related to the workplace. The obligation to ensure safety and health is defined as applying to "businesses or workplaces that are substantially controlled and operated" (Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the law).

Industry and experts point out that the term "substantial" is ambiguous, making the scope unclear. They also argue that the management’s mandatory measures, such as "establishing a safety and health management system" or "complying with safety and health-related laws," are not specific.

Jeon Seung-tae, head of the Industrial Safety and Health Team at the Korea Employers Federation, said, "The biggest problem is that the responsibilities of the person in charge are unclear, and many say they don’t know the scope of related laws. Because there are strong punishment provisions, but the law does not clearly specify the management obligations, forced investigations are being conducted."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there are also prospects that the Serious Accident Punishment Act may be significantly revised with the new government’s inauguration. President-elect Yoon Seok-youl stated, "The conditions for detention under the Serious Accident Punishment Act are ambiguous," and "There could be various legal issues when criminal prosecution occurs," which is a representative example.

The industry’s opinion is that the scope of business owners and management responsibility should be clearly narrowed and specified. It is argued that if a serious accident death occurs due to negligence by subcontracted field workers or site managers, this should be reflected in the application of the law.

Among the four workers who died in the Yeocheon NCC accident, one was a Yeocheon NCC employee, and the other three were all from partner firms. The victims of the Hyundai Steel accident at Dangjin Steelworks were also workers from a partner company specializing in maintenance. A Hyundai Steel official said, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor is currently investigating the CEO and the safety general executive, but whether they will be subject to punishment may ultimately require legal judgment."

Meanwhile, industrial accidents continue to occur steadily even after the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act. From January 27, when the law was enacted, to the 10th of this month, 55 workers (in 46 cases) have died due to industrial accidents over six weeks, averaging nine deaths per week.

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