Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee: "Establish Fundamental Measures for Seokpo Smelter Accident"... 4 Arsenic Poisoning Cases, 1 Death

12 Deaths in Various Accidents Over 25 Years

On the 6th, four workers at the Yeongpoong Seokpo Smelter Plant 1 in Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk, were poisoned by the Group 1 carcinogen arsenic (As), resulting in the death of subcontracted worker Kim and leaving one person in critical condition.

The Seokpo Smelter, subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for workplaces with more than 50 regular employees, handles hazardous substances such as zinc and lead. The law stipulates that if safety obligations are violated and casualties occur, the business owner may face imprisonment of more than one year or a fine of up to 1 billion KRW.

Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee

Since 1997, the Seokpo Smelter has seen 12 deaths due to various accidents including heavy metal poisoning such as cadmium. Regarding this recent accident, the smelter has consistently responded by saying that “arsine gas does not come out of the tank during the process” and that “they cannot disclose whether workers were wearing safety protective equipment.”

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Party of the Democratic Party of Korea expressed deep condolences to the deceased and their families, wished for the speedy recovery of the injured workers, and urged the judicial authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and impose strict punishment for this accident.

They also called on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration to conduct new safety inspections to prevent such tragic incidents from happening again and to establish comprehensive and fundamental measures, including relocating the workplace, so that the 13 million people of Yeongnam no longer have to live with toxic substances.

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