[Full Text] Heo Young-in, SPC Chairman, "Deeply Responsible... Investing 100 Billion KRW in Safety Management System"

Heo Young-in (center), chairman of SPC Group, along with executives and employees, is making a public apology on the 21st at the SPC headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding the recent employee death accident at the affiliate SPL. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Heo Young-in, chairman of SPC, recently apologized regarding the SPL safety accident.

On the 21st, at the SPC headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Chairman Heo stated during the "Public Apology and Announcement of Recurrence Prevention Measures" that the company will strengthen safety management and establish a culture that respects and cares for employees.

Chairman Heo said, "I deeply accept responsibility for this accident and humbly accept the stern criticism and admonishment from the public. Especially, I sincerely apologize for the company’s failure to first understand and care for the shock and sorrow of the employees who worked closely with the deceased." He added, "To prevent such incidents from happening again, we will invest a total of 100 billion KRW to significantly strengthen the safety management system across the entire group."

Below is the full text of the apology.

First, I would like to once again express my deep condolences and apologies to the deceased and their bereaved family regarding the accident that occurred at our workplace on the 15th.

Furthermore, I sincerely apologize once again for causing concern to the public.

The company is cooperating sincerely with the investigation by the relevant authorities and is striving to accurately identify the cause of the accident and take follow-up measures.

We have also committed to doing our utmost to provide proper support so that the bereaved family can overcome their grief.

Not only SPL, where the accident occurred, but also myself and all members of our company deeply accept responsibility for this accident and humbly accept the stern criticism and admonishment from the public.

It was confirmed that work was carried out near the accident site the day after the accident. This was a mistake. I believe this is an unacceptable act that cannot be justified for any reason.

All of this is due to my shortcomings, and my failure to properly convey to employees what values are most important.

The company should have first understood and embraced the shock and sorrow of the employees who worked closely with the deceased, but we failed to do so, which is very regrettable.

I sincerely apologize to the employees who must have gone through a difficult time.

To prevent such incidents from recurring, we will thoroughly re-examine the safety management system across the group and significantly strengthen safety management.

First, we will immediately conduct an "Industrial Safety and Health Diagnosis" of all group workplaces through an external professional organization and establish and implement comprehensive safety management improvement measures.

Additionally, we will establish a "Safety Management Committee" composed of external experts with professional expertise and on-site employees to strengthen safety supervision functions.

Along with this, we will always put employees first and devote ourselves to making the workplace safe.

Once again, I apologize for causing concern, and through relentless efforts, we will not only strengthen safety management but also establish a culture of humane respect and care to become a trusted company.

SPC Chairman Heo Young-in

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