HD Hyundai (267250.KS) pledged to eliminate serious industrial accidents through a large-scale safety investment, but fatal accidents have continued at its plants this year. Deaths have persisted even after the company halted production across all processes in a "safety shutdown," prompting criticism that its safety measures are not working.
Eight workers died at HD Hyundai affiliates this year, according to industry sources on the 23rd. In September last year, HD Hyundai announced a "safety first" management policy that commits 4.5 trillion won ($3.2 billion) to safety spending through 2030, with the goal of eliminating serious accidents at its workplaces by building an advanced safety system.
Despite that pledge, deaths did not stop. Five of the fatalities occurred at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (329180.KS). On April 9, a subcontractor employee died in a fire aboard a navy submarine undergoing overhaul at the Ulsan shipyard. On July 18, an Uzbek subcontractor employee was crushed in a gondola in the cargo hold of a liquefied natural gas carrier. On the 24th of the same month, a subcontractor employee at a panel plant died when the worker's head was caught between a lug-fitting machine, which secures large structures to crane hooks, and a lug attached to the underside of a ship block.
After the string of accidents, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries halted production across all processes in a safety shutdown and conducted a full review of high-risk operations.
Even so, more deaths followed. On Aug. 14, a subcontractor employee at the Yongyeon plant in Ulsan was run over by a reversing trailer and died on Sept. 1 while receiving treatment. On Sept. 28, a subcontractor employee was found collapsed in a boiler machine room and died after being taken to a hospital. Authorities are investigating the circumstances, including the possibility that the worker fell from a ladder.
Accidents also continued at other affiliates. On June 22, a worker mooring a vessel at a quay wall at HD Hyundai Samho's Yeongam shipyard was struck by a rope and killed. On July 9, a subcontractor employee at HD Hyundai MNS' Ulsan plant fell to their death while performing maintenance on an overhead crane 20 meters above the ground. On the 19th of this month, a worker fell through an opening in a condenser room at a construction site for a new transformer plant in Ulsan run by HD Hyundai Plaspo, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai Electric (267260.KS).
The government has also tightened oversight. The Ministry of Employment and Labor deployed 62 labor inspectors to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for an intensive audit in August and September, finding 859 violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. It also notified the company of fines totaling 464.6 million won, according to sources. HD Hyundai carried out an early reshuffle of its chief executives this month and tapped Cho Min-soo, executive vice president of HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and a veteran of its shipyards, as chief executive in charge of safety.
The government last year made its "war on industrial accidents" a core policy priority and said it would consider sanctions, including punitive damages, against companies with repeated fatal accidents. President Lee Jae-myung has described industrial accidents as "killing with willful disregard for human life" and ordered measures to eradicate them.
