Labor minister summons Posco Group over Sinansanline deaths, demands safety investment expansion

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon met with Posco Group executives Monday to address a string of fatal accidents at the Sinansanline railway construction site, urging the conglomerate to expand safety investment and put in place meaningful measures to prevent further deaths.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, Kim convened the meeting at the Government Sejong Complex with Posco Group Chairman Jang In-hwa and other senior executives to discuss group-wide safety management reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence of serious industrial accidents.

The emergency meeting was called after a subcontract worker died June 9 when he fell at the Sinansanline double-track railway construction site being built by Posco E&C — the accident that prompted Kim to order urgent preventive measures.

Posco E&C CEO Song Chi-young and Posco CEO Lee Hee-geun joined Chairman Jang at the meeting.

Kim expressed concern over the repeated occurrence of the same types of serious accidents at Posco Group worksites and called on the parent company to take direct responsibility for strengthening safety management.

"Sites that are particularly dangerous, like those of Posco E&C and Posco, must have special measures in place and must actually implement them on the ground," he said. "Expanding safety investment and making it work at the site level is what matters most."

He also urged the group to improve job security and compensation for on-site safety and health managers, and to roll out substantive safety measures centered on support for subcontractors.

"All executives must recognize that a safe workplace is a condition for a company's survival," Kim said, calling on Posco Group to rebuild public trust by becoming a model of safety management befitting a global company that leads the South Korean economy.

In response, Chairman Jang pledged to increase the safety budget, convert safety personnel at the Sinansanline site to permanent positions and add more staff, and conduct a full review of safety management systems across all sites. "We will mobilize every resource available to the group to ensure the same accidents do not happen again," he said.

The fatal accident occurred June 9 at the Sinansanline double-track railway construction site in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, where a 35-year-old subcontract worker fell roughly 15 meters while expanding an opening for cable tray installation.

The site has seen four accidents — including the June 9 incident — since 2024, claiming four workers' lives. Across all Posco E&C sites, 10 workers have died in serious industrial accidents over the past three years.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it will continue to monitor whether Posco Group follows through on its safety improvement commitments in the wake of the meeting.