Labor minister leads surprise inspections of high-risk worksites nationwide

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon joined regional labor office chiefs across the country Thursday for a sweeping series of unannounced inspections targeting worksites at high risk of serious accidents.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said Kim and the heads of regional labor offices conducted intensive inspections of vulnerable worksites, including waste processing facilities, metal fabrication plants and small- to mid-sized construction sites.

Kim made an unannounced visit Thursday to a resource recycling facility in Jung-gu, Seoul, to assess its safety management practices. The site handles large quantities of combustible materials such as waste paper and styrofoam, and operates machinery including compactors, loaders and forklifts in shared spaces with workers — conditions that create a high risk of fire, entrapment and collision.

The inspection uncovered multiple violations: inadequate maintenance of fire suppression equipment, operation of a compactor with its safety guard removed, workers entering the operating radius of a loader, and failure to wear hard hats. The ministry ordered immediate corrective action and called for safety improvements including the separation of equipment operating zones from pedestrian pathways.

"This is the time for every industrial safety inspector to give their all to sustain the decline in serious workplace accidents we have seen through the third quarter," Kim said. "We must approach every inspection with the mindset of identifying and addressing every risk factor without exception."

Meanwhile, the ministry has been conducting intensive inspections of worksites at risk of fire and explosion from Nov. 2 through Nov. 13. Inspectors are focusing on measures including spark and ember containment, gas concentration monitoring and ventilation, static electricity suppression, and the availability of fire suppression equipment and emergency evacuation routes.