- Operation of a “Special On-Site Inspection Day”
The Ministry of Employment and Labor (Acting Vice-Minister Min-seok Kim) and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (President Hyun-jung Kim) have designated June 18 as a “Special On-Site Inspection Day” to mark one year since the battery-factory fire in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province (24 June 2024). Intensive inspections will be conducted at battery-manufacturing workplaces nationwide.
In order to prevent avoidable safety accidents, on-site inspections will also be carried out at workplaces vulnerable to summer natural disasters such as heavy rain and heatwaves.
Mobilizing all personnel from local employment and labor offices and KOSHA, the MOEL will focus on approximately 430 high-risk battery-manufacturing workplaces, inspecting:
- Maintenance and management of emergency evacuation facilities (e.g., emergency exits) and conduct of evacuation drills
- Installation of fire-extinguishing equipment appropriate for fire prevention
- Identification of hazardous or combustible materials in the workplace and their storage in safe locations
Simultaneously, workplaces vulnerable to heavy rain (about 6,300 sites) and heatwaves (about 60,000 sites) will be guided and inspected on:
- Compliance with core safety rules for each disaster type
- concerning flooding, collapse, electric shock, high winds, etc.
- Implementation of the Five Basic Heat-Safety Rules
*Five Basic Heat-Safety Rules: ① Water ② Airflow/Shade ③ Rest (at least 20 minutes every two hours) ④ Cooling gear ⑤ First aid
During inspections, if imminent danger is found, inspectors will actively guide employers or workers to suspend operations.
Jong-yoon Kim, Head of MOEL’s Industrial Safety and Health Bureau, urged by remarking, “To ensure that accidents causing numerous casualties, such as last year’s battery-factory fire, never recur, each workplace should re-examine fire-risk factors on its own and pay special attention to fire prevention. The MOEL will remain vigilant through the end of September, maintaining field-oriented, proactive, and vigorous activities to prevent industrial accidents during the summer heavy-rain and heatwave season.”