[Unofficial Korean-to-English translation provided by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

"'Booming' shipyards, 'graveyards' for workers...12 dead in industrial accidents this year alone," 14 May 2024

...On May 13, at around 2:23 p.m., a gas leak in a container ship under construction at Daesun Shipbuilding & Engineering Shipyard in Daegu, South Korea, caused an explosion and fire. A Vietnamese migrant worker in his 30s was killed, and a South Korean worker was burned in the accident and died after being taken to a hospital.

...On the 10th, Lee Seung-gon, a 22-year-old subcontract worker, died while diving to remove barnacles at HD Hyundai Samho shipyard...

...On the day of Lee's accident, two workers, including a migrant worker from Cambodia, were crushed to death when a ship structure collapsed at Kumgang Heavy Industries... In Geoje, Tongyeong, and Goseong, where shipyards are concentrated, eight workers have lost their lives at shipyards this year...

At Hyundai Heavy Industries' Ulsan Shipyard, one worker was killed and another was seriously injured on February 12 when a part of the structure collapsed from a floating production unit (FPS), an offshore structure, while moving equipment.

Labor unions are calling for special work supervision by the government and punishment of employers for the recent spate of fatal accidents in the shipbuilding industry. According to the Metal Workers' Union, 12 people have died in shipyard accidents this year.

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