Hanwha Aerospace explosion prompts labor ministry crackdown on chip, defense industries

Chipmakers and defense manufacturers — two of Korea's fastest-growing industries — will be subject to state-led emergency safety inspections at their factories to protect workers’ safety, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said on Tuesday.

Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon ordered such an inspection during a second meeting of the central management headquarters for industrial accidents to discuss the deadly explosion at Hanwha Aerospace’s cleaning facility.

During the meeting, officials reviewed the investigation records and proof indicating a recent increase in contract volumes at Hanwha Aerospace. They also discussed the recent fluorine gas leak that happened at one of chipmaker SK hynix’s plants, which left multiple workers injured.

Labor Minister Kim ordered officials to conduct extensive emergency safety inspections across industries experiencing rapid growth, including semiconductor and defense manufacturing.

The inspections will focus on whether workplace safety measures are properly implemented as companies ramp up production to meet surging client demand. The ministry plans to convene a nationwide meeting of regional labor office agencies and their chiefs on Thursday and direct local officials to strengthen workplace safety guidance and inspections.

Kim also said the Hanwha Aerospace explosion accident appears to constitute a serious industrial accident under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Kim instructed authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate potential violations of workplace safety laws, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. He ordered authorities to take stern action if any violations are confirmed.

Under Korean law, a serious industrial accident includes cases in which at least one worker is killed in an industrial accident or at least two workers suffer injuries requiring more than six months of treatment as a result of the same incident.

Authorities have confirmed that five people were killed and two others suffered burns of varying severity in the explosion at Hanwha Aerospace’s plant in Daejeon.

The latest explosion marks the third explosion at the facility. Previous explosions in 2018 and 2019 killed five and three workers, respectively.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY KIM YEON-JOO [[email protected]]