Korea Zinc's Onsan smelter honors winners of safety poster contest

Korea Zinc announced Thursday that its Onsan Smelter held an awards ceremony for the second "KZ Safety in Drawing" family-participation safety poster contest.

The contest was organized to reinforce the message that "my safety is my family's safety" and to strengthen participants' commitment to practicing safety in daily life and at work. Employees, partner company staff and their family members all took part, expressing their views on the importance of safety through illustrations and slogans.

A total of 71 entries were submitted this year. The final winners were selected through a combined review by all employees, executives and outside experts from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. The awards ceremony — presenting the grand prize, excellence award, merit award and encouragement prizes — was held Aug. 11, with the grand prize winner receiving a commendation from the head of the Ministry of Employment and Labor's Ulsan branch office.

The grand prize went to a work submitted by the child of a partner company employee. The piece conveyed a sense of urgency through the message "A missed moment of safety never comes back," highlighting that safety, once neglected, cannot be undone.

The excellence award winner carried the message "Dad's safety harness is the lifeline connecting our family," expressing the idea that practicing safety on the job is directly tied to a family's happiness.

Other entries addressed major workplace hazards and safety rules, including the prevention of falls, entrapment and suffocation.

Korea Zinc's Onsan Smelter plans to use the contest entries as internal safety and health education materials to raise safety awareness among its workforce and promote a broader culture of safety.

Kim Seung-hyun, head of the Onsan Smelter, said the contest was especially meaningful because it brought together not only Korea Zinc employees but also partner company staff and their families to share the value of safety. "I hope the care people feel for their families translates into practice on the job — following basic rules and principles and looking out for one another — so we can build an even safer workplace," he said.

Korea Zinc has been strengthening workplace-centered safety and health activities with worker safety and wellbeing as its top priority. Most recently, the company ran a summer heat illness prevention campaign together with its labor union, and is pursuing seasonal hazard prevention efforts as well as a safety culture rooted in participation from both employees and partner companies.