Labor minister orders surprise re-inspections of worksites, tougher oversight for repeat offenders

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon has ordered surprise follow-up inspections of worksites that have already undergone safety checks to verify that violations identified during those reviews have been properly corrected. Kim also directed officials to apply the same rigor as a formal special inspection to companies where the same type of serious accident has recurred.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Kim chaired an emergency meeting Saturday morning with the heads of 49 regional offices nationwide to discuss ways to strengthen the government's industrial safety response. The meeting was convened to encourage regional office heads to take a more active role and maintain a heightened sense of urgency so that improved safety awareness at worksites translates into lasting structural change.

Kim said thorough oversight and a zero-tolerance approach are needed to prevent serious accidents from recurring at worksites that have already been inspected. He directed officials to conduct unannounced follow-up checks to confirm that violations found during earlier inspections have been fully remedied.

On companies where the same type of serious accident has occurred more than once, Kim said officials must treat the situation with the utmost seriousness. "Please approach oversight of those companies as if it were a special inspection," he said. He added that the government must build a structure in which active investment in safety generates returns rather than being treated merely as a cost.

Regional office heads at the meeting presented and discussed priority tasks they plan to pursue during the remainder of this year to reduce the number of fatal workplace accidents.

"Headquarters must do everything possible to advance budget and legislative priorities during the regular National Assembly session, while regional offices must concentrate their capacity on enforcement so that people can feel the difference on the ground — that is how we ensure the system takes root where it matters," Kim said.

"For the downward trend in fatal accident numbers to become an irreversible change rather than a temporary phenomenon, the role of regional office heads as commanders on the ground has never been more important," he added.