"3 Major Industrial Accidents in 1 Year" SeAH Besteel Violated Industrial Safety Act 592 Times

328 Judicial Actions, Remaining Fines Totaling About 400 Million KRW
Lee Jeong-sik "Will Continuously Monitor Improvement Results"

As a result of a special inspection conducted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on SeAH Besteel Co., Ltd., which experienced three major industrial accidents in the past year, a total of 592 violations of the Industrial Safety and Health Act were identified. The Ministry announced on the 1st that 328 of these cases will be subject to criminal prosecution and judicial action, while fines totaling approximately 380 million KRW will be imposed on 264 cases.

The Ministry conducted the special inspection from March 29 to April 7 at SeAH Besteel’s headquarters, Gunsan plant, and Changnyeong plant. At the Gunsan plant, two major industrial accidents last year resulted in two deaths, and another major accident in March this year caused two more fatalities.

In this special inspection, the Ministry examined not only legal violations but also management policies and organizational culture. A Ministry official stated, "The inspection revealed multiple issues concerning SeAH Besteel’s overall safety management."

At the Gunsan plant, where the major accidents occurred, violations of basic safety measures such as failure to install safety railings, secure safety passages, implement protective measures for rotating parts, and install emergency stop devices?previously identified during a post-accident inspection in December last year?were found again. It was also confirmed that safety measures related to earlier fatal accidents were insufficient.

A Ministry official explained, "It appears that the self-regulatory prevention system was not functioning properly, as risk assessments to identify and improve workplace hazards were conducted only formally. Furthermore, tasks related to hazard prevention such as patrol inspections were inadequately performed, special safety and health education for SeAH Besteel employees and subcontractor workers was not properly conducted, and obligations for special health examinations were not complied with."

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik stated, "Fundamental improvements in corporate management policies and organizational culture are necessary." He urged, "SeAH Besteel must take the results of this special inspection seriously and redesign its safety and health management system from the ground up." He added, "The Ministry will not stop with this special inspection but will continuously monitor the improvement results until a safety culture is firmly established at SeAH Besteel."

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