Hanwha Aero launches safety reform committee after deadly Daejeon blast

Defense contractor Hanwha Aerospace has established an independent oversight body led by outside experts in response to the explosion at its Daejeon plant that left seven people dead or injured.

The company launched the Safety Culture Innovation Committee — also referred to as the Safety Innovation Committee — on Sunday, announcing it would conduct a fundamental review of its occupational health and safety management system and draw up measures to prevent a recurrence.

The committee will comprise 13 members — 11 external experts and two employees nominated by the labor union — to ensure independence and professional expertise. Its inaugural chair is Moon Il, an emeritus distinguished professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Yonsei University and a specialist in process safety and chemical engineering who previously served as president of the Korean Institute of Hazardous Materials and head of the National Research Foundation of Korea's national policy research division.

Hanwha Aerospace plans to appoint two specialists each from the fields of systems management, safety culture, industrial safety, chemical safety and military explosives as committee members by the end of this month. Two union-nominated workers will also sit on the committee to ensure frontline employees' experience and views are reflected.

The committee plans to reassess the overall safety management level at the company's worksites from the ground up, diagnose structural vulnerabilities across the organization, systems, procedures and field operations, and overhaul the occupational health and safety management system in its entirety.

In the first phase, the committee will focus on sites handling hazardous materials such as explosives, evaluating how dangerous substances are managed and assessing process risks, while conducting a detailed review of standard operating procedures and safety management frameworks to develop concrete safety measures. The second phase will examine the broader safety management system — including responses to serious industrial accidents, safety investment and budget operations, and the organizational and decision-making structures governing safety — to identify areas for improvement. Throughout both phases, the committee will engage directly with frontline workers to develop practical solutions.

The Safety Innovation Committee said it will move swiftly to implement any corrective measures identified through its assessments. The company also plans to hold a joint labor-management "New Safety Culture Innovation Declaration" ceremony in September.

Meanwhile, Hanwha Aerospace plans to spend 452.4 billion won ($296 million) on safety and environmental improvements this year — an 83.2 percent increase from the 247 billion won invested last year.

The blast occurred on the morning of June 1 at the company's plant in Oesamdong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, killing five workers on the spot and injuring two others. The Daejeon Regional Employment and Labor Office booked CEO Son Jae-il on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and plant manager Ga Jae-ung on charges of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act, with both now under investigation. Ga was also criminally booked by police on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

Police conducted search and seizure operations at the Daejeon plant, Hanwha's headquarters and its research and development campus. They are analyzing more than 5,400 pieces of evidence and six mobile phones belonging to individuals connected to the case as the investigation into the cause of the accident continues.