Fatal accidents: Our challenge is not to repeat them

Min Choi, MD

Activist and occupational and environmental medicine specialist

Korean Institute of Labor Safety and Health

2022

There is a famous line from Jung Hyun-jong’s poem, “The Visitor” that says, “When a person comes, it is indeed a tremendous thing, for he comes with his past, his present, and his future.” When a person dies, it is also a tremendous event, because his past, present, and future are closed off all at once. It is even more devastating when the death is due to a preventable disaster. That is why our tasks after a fatal accident are so important so that it is not repeated.

Remembering without forgetting

The Kim Yong-gyun Foundation is publishing a guidebook called “Establishing Memory,” that introduces the location and meaning of memorial sculptures for workers who have died in occupational accidents. “Remembering and not forgetting is the key to preventing the next accident,” emphasizes Kwon Mi-jeong, Secretary General of the Foundation. “It is urgently necessary for our society to remember not only the event or accident, but also why and how it happened, and the struggle that was necessary to reveal the truth of the accident.”

Each of the memorial sculptures has different characteristics and meanings. The memorials to worker, Kim Yong-gyun, and nurse, Seo Ji-yoon, are significant because they were erected in front of the main entrances of their respective workplaces as a result of a struggle. The memorial to PD Lee Jae-hak of Cheongju Broadcasting ultimately had to be erected at a location set aside by his family because Cheongju Broadcasting did not properly acknowledge its responsibility. The bereaved family members who fought for the rights of non-regular broadcasting workers to be properly guaranteed are reminded of the wishes of the deceased. Citing a recent example where the Hyundai Heavy Industries union erected a memorial at a factory with the names of 473 people who died in accidents since the union was formed, Kwon called on unions to “take a more active role in remembering their colleagues who died in preventable deaths.”

Writing and publishing proper critical incident investigation reports

Another important activity to prevent recurrence of fatal accidents is investigation of their causes. The investigation should involve workers to quickly and accurately establish the facts and identify the ‘cause of the cause’, not just the surface cause. Only when a major accident investigation report containing this type of content is prepared and disclosed can it be meaningfully used as a resource for the prevention of other accidents. A report that is only available to police and prosecutors, but not to companies with similar risks, workers, labor inspectors, safety and health experts, and researchers, cannot help prevent accidents.

Choi Jin-il, President of the Chungnam Labor, Health and Human Rights Center, emphasizes that disclosure is also an essential process to improve the quality of serious accident investigation reports. “In February 2019, a subcontracted worker who was repairing a coal transfer conveyor at Hyundai Steel died after getting stuck in the conveyor on a side line when he went to retrieve a missing tool. The opinion of the serious accident investigation prepared by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Administration stated that the cause was the lack of a safe working environment due to movement out of the normal material transportation route, insufficient illumination of the passage, dust scattering, and sedimentation. It is also necessary to examine why the workers were unable to move to the designated work path and whether there were any preexisting work environment problems such as illumination. The subsequent ‘Safety and Health Diagnosis of Hyundai Steel Dangjin Plant’ pointed to the barriers between contractors and subcontractors as an important reason for the accident, as all the facilities belonged to the original contractor, not the subcontractors, and numerous on-site suggestions to improve them were not accepted. At the very least, this level of serious accident investigation could help prevent a recurrence. As the Korean proverb says, “After losing a cow, one repairs the barn.” The meaning is that problems should be addressed to avoid accidents or misfortune.

Tough penalties for OSHA violations

It is also important to ensure that there are strong penalties in the event of an accident recurrence. This is not only possible through the Serious Accident Punishment Act. The need to properly punish those who violate the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act has been emphasized even before the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act. Even if they are punished for violating the OSH Act, the punishment is ineffective because they break the law again. In 2017, the number of defendants with prior convictions for violating the OSH Act was more than three times the number of defendants without prior convictions (see the reference from Lee, Jin-guk, 2019 in the full report).

In January 2021, the Supreme Court’s Sentencing Commission increased the range of sentencing guidelines and increased sentences for offenses against the OSH Act, following the comprehensive revision of the Act and the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act. However, the changes are not yet significant. According to “Analyzing Case Law on Offenses Against the Occupational Safety and Health Act” (see the reference from Lee, Jin-guk, & Yang, Seung-guk, 2021 in the full report), the proportion of prison sentences (including probation) over fines is higher than before the July 2021 revision of the sentencing guidelines (47.7% → 51.0%). However, the average fine for violations of the KOSHA remained unchanged at KRW 4.5 million (~USD$3,400 or €3,200) before the sentencing guidelines were revised and KRW 5.5 million afterward (~USD$4100 or €$3900). The prison sentence for manslaughter in violation of safety and health measures is also almost the same at 7 months. Although the average amount of the fine increased from about KRW 5.93 million to KRW 8.38 million (~USD$4,400 – $6300), it is still difficult to expect the effectiveness of the punishment.

“In the UK, in the 10 months prior to the 2016 sentencing reforms, 30% of cases were sentenced to fines of £60,000 or more, but after the reforms, the number increased significantly to 50%,” said Ik-chan Son, lawyer, emphasizing that the difference in penalties between the UK and Korea is significant (note that £60,000 is approximately KRW 98 million). Stronger penalties to deter violations of the OSHA are also urgently needed to prevent recurring major disasters.

Efforts at each workplace

Each workplace also needs to make efforts to change after an accident. The Korean Tire Workers’ Union increased the number of occupational health cadres within the union after a major accident. The trained cadres can directly participate in investigations when accidents occur in the field, elicit measures to prevent recurrence from members, and negotiate with the company to implement measures. These are tasks that unions must take on at each unit workplace.

“It is clear that companies have changed since the enactment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, such as increasing the number of people in charge of safety and health and the budget,” said Lee Tae-jin, head of the Daejeon Chungbuk Branch of the Metalworkers’ Union, emphasizing the need for trade unions to actively utilize this situation. In the event of a major or non-major accident, it is much more difficult to change work methods or practices that require workers to take risks due to production volume or company circumstances than it is to introduce a system by discussing the investigation procedures and methods with the Occupational Safety and Health Committee in advance and establishing policies. These are tasks that labor unions must take on at each workplace.