Worker killed in entrapment accident on July 22
Labor and management to establish prevention measures, conduct annual inspections
HL Mando has reached a settlement with the family of a subcontractor worker who died on the job, 62 days after the fatal accident. The bereaved family and the labor union said Tuesday that HL Mando Chairman Chung Mong-won will personally apologize and that labor and management will jointly develop measures to prevent a recurrence.
HL Mando and the serious accident response committee for the late Kim Seung-mo reached the agreement Tuesday after negotiations that began Monday. The settlement includes an apology from HL Mando's management, including Chairman Chung, the establishment of recurrence-prevention measures with union participation, active cooperation with an investigation into alleged illegal dispatch of workers, and compensation for the bereaved family.
The family plans to hold a civic funeral in front of the Seoul Employment and Labor Office at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Chairman Chung is expected to pay his respects at the funeral home separately beforehand.
HL Mando said in a statement that it "prays for the repose of Kim Seung-mo's soul" and extended "a sincere apology again to the bereaved family, who are enduring deep grief." The company added that it "will faithfully fulfill the terms of the agreement with the bereaved family and do its utmost to continuously inspect and improve its safety management systems so that such a tragic accident does not recur."
HL Mando had planned to hold a press conference Monday at its Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, attended by Vice Chairman Jo Seong-hyeon and others, to issue a public apology and announce prevention measures. The event was canceled after Kim's father and other members of the response committee blocked management from taking the podium in a picket protest.
HL Mando released a comprehensive safety improvement roadmap Monday, centered on a full overhaul of safety systems across all its worksites and the creation of a dedicated safety organization.
Under the plan, the company will conduct annual joint inspections with external safety specialists, with any findings managed through a dedicated roadmap. HL Mando also said it will build a smart safety management system, including human-detection CCTV cameras inside factories and mobile CCTV units capable of monitoring hazardous situations during outsourced construction work.
HL Mando said it "will establish a concrete roadmap and monitor progress through to completion to ensure these measures are not a one-time declaration but are carried out with certainty, with management directly verifying the results and, where necessary, having their effectiveness and on-site implementation thoroughly confirmed through objective review by external specialists."
The accident occurred at around 12:50 p.m. on July 22 at the company's Pyeongtaek factory, when Kim — a subcontractor employee — was inspecting the interior of a malfunctioning parts-processing machine and became trapped between the machine and a wall, fatally crushing his upper body.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor conducted a month-long industrial safety inspection of HL Mando's Pyeongtaek factory, concluding Friday, and found a total of 138 violations at the factory and four subcontractors. The ministry said the inspection focused on safety measures for hazards such as machinery and equipment, accident-prevention obligations as the primary contractor, the operation of the industrial safety and health committee, and the safety management systems linking the primary contractor and subcontractors.
eyre@heraldcorp.com
