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(Photo= Yonhap news) |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Hanwha Ocean has been fined a total of KRW 265.55 million (approximately USD 200,000) for violating 61 provisions of industrial safety and health regulations, following a special inspection by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This comes in the wake of the deaths of five workers at the company this year.
According to a report submitted to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Joo-young by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on October 6, the special inspection took place from February 26 to March 8, focusing on Hanwha Ocean and 102 of its partner companies. The inspection was conducted in response to the deaths of three or more workers at the company within a year, which automatically triggered the special inspection.
Key violations included the failure to install safety railings, lack of fall protection measures at high-risk areas, improper ladder access, and failure to indicate load limits during heavy lifting operations. As a result, the inspection identified 44 corrective actions, 46 legal actions, 15 fines, and 2 work stoppage orders.
This year alone, five workers have died at Hanwha Ocean, including three due to major industrial accidents, one suspected heat-related illness, and one unexplained drowning. Notable incidents include a gas explosion on January 12 that killed an employee from a partner company, and a diver from another partner company who died during operations on January 24. Despite the government’s inspection, another fatal incident occurred on September 9, when a worker in his 30s fell to his death from a height of about 30 meters during night operations at the company’s Geoje (Okpo) shipyard.
The National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee is set to summon Hanwha Ocean representatives as witnesses on October 15 during a parliamentary audit to question them about workplace safety and measures to prevent major industrial accidents.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
