CEOs of Hyundai Motor, Samlip, Hanwha Ocean among those called in; firms urged to boost safety investment

Special inspection of 1,000 workplaces prone to entrapment accidents underway

[Provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor]
[Provided by the Ministry of Employment and Labor]

The government has launched an emergency review targeting manufacturers where the same type of industrial accident has recurred at the same workplace. The move follows repeated remarks by the president at Cabinet meetings that such recurring accidents represent a serious problem.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Thursday it held an emergency inspection meeting at the Seoul Regional Employment and Labor Office to address repeat industrial accidents of the same type in manufacturing, calling on the chief executives of 15 major manufacturers to comply with mandatory safety measures and expand safety investment. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups also attended.

The companies present were Korea Zinc, Kumho Tire, KCC Glass, Samlip, SeAH Besteel, Samsung Display, Samkang S&C, Ssangyong C&E, SK Geocentric, HD Hyundai Samho, Ourhome, Hansol Paper, Hanwha Ocean, Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Steel — all manufacturers where the same category of workplace accident has recurred.

The companies also announced plans to prevent recurrences. Hyundai Motor said it would expand safety investment by about 10 percent annually and strengthen nighttime safety inspections using patrol robots. Samlip pledged to put safety before production as a guiding principle and reinforce workers' right to stop work. HD Hyundai Samho presented plans to expand an AI-based accident prediction system and drone-assisted safety management.

The ministry has been conducting a special inspection of 1,000 manufacturing workplaces prone to repeat entrapment accidents, running for 10 days from Tuesday. Inspectors are checking compliance with core safety rules — including cutting and locking out power during maintenance, repair, cleaning and inspection work, prohibiting the unauthorized removal of protective devices, and installing safety guards over hazardous parts. Violations will be subject to both administrative and criminal action.

"When the same accident recurs at the same workplace, it means the safety management system has failed to function properly or that hazards have been left unaddressed," Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said. He urged companies to expand safety investment — including automatic protective devices — and to involve both management and labor in risk assessments to prevent accidents before they happen. Kim also said firms should strictly follow the ministry's five heat-safety rules, given that a severe heat wave is forecast this summer.


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