HD현대중 나홀로 노동자 또 사망… 노조 “1인 작업 대책 마련해야”

In the first four months of the year, HD Hyundai's MID Industrial Complex has witnessed the untimely death of four workers who were forced to work alone. The labor union has called for measures to be taken regarding solo work. According to various accounts, on the evening of July 28, 67-year-old worker Park Seok-jin was found unconscious and bleeding from his head in the underground mechanical room of the former Metal Foundry Complex in Ulsan's Dong-gu.

The worker who was patrolling the area noticed that the lights were on in the mechanical room, prompting him to investigate and discover the body. Despite being unresponsive, Park Seok-jin's body was already stiff when he was taken to the hospital. He passed away at 9 PM that night. Park Seok-jin was a subcontractor working for Hanu Service at this location, which sees workers rotate on a one-at-a-time basis from 3 AM to 11 AM, and again from 8 PM to late evening.

The CCTV in the mechanical room had been malfunctioning for at least seven years, leaving no clear evidence of what transpired when Park Seok-jin fell. The police have determined that it was an accident resulting in a fall, likely due to Park Seok-jin falling into the 2-meter ladder and falling into the gap between the pipe and the ladder.

The ladder below him was crushed by a strong impact, and a flashlight was found on top of the ladder. The guidelines set forth by the Korean Industrial Safety and Health Agency state that ladders higher than 1.2 meters should be used by two people. However, there was no one else working with Park Seok-jin. The Ministry of Employment and Labor is investigating potential violations of the Special Act on Disaster Prevention and Disaster Relief.

MID has factories where workers have fallen alone, such as the shipyard accident in April where a 60-year-old subcontractor died while cleaning the bottom of the ship, and a 20-year-old subcontractor from Uzbekistan in July who died after failing to evacuate during a fire at a facility in Ulsan. In July, a 30-year-old subcontractor from Kazakhstan died in a strangulation accident at a steel plant in Gunsan.

Hyundai Industrial Trade Union Secretary Kim Hyun-soo urged for measures to be taken against solo work in an interview with Haneul, stating "four workers died alone this year" and urging for a solution to the issue of solo work. MID stated it would cooperate fully with the relevant authorities. In another incident on December 14, a 50-year-old subcontractor working at MID's oil refinery in Ulsan's southern district died after being taken to a hospital for treatment.