Government 'considering' revoking Posco E&C's building license after workplace deaths
Published: 08 Aug. 2025, 15:28
Updated: 08 Aug. 2025, 18:59
![Posco E&C's headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, is seen on Aug. 6. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/08/a6ad4771-1be6-4705-b9a6-58315dcfbaa4.jpg)
Posco E&C's headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, is seen on Aug. 6. [NEWS1]
The government has begun reviewing legal grounds to impose severe penalties — including license revocation — on Posco E&C following a series of fatal accidents at its worksites.
A senior government official said Thursday that “in line with the presidential office’s instructions, we are examining all legally possible measures for license cancellation and bans on public tenders.”
They added that multiple ministries, including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Employment and Labor, are “putting their heads together and considering various options.”
The move comes after President Lee Jae Myung sharply criticized Posco E&C on July 29 for the deaths of four workers at its sites this year. The company pledged to prevent recurrence, but another accident on Monday left a worker unconscious. On Wednesday, Lee publicly ordered the relevant ministries to find legal provisions for heavy penalties, including license revocation.
Some major builders say they agree with Lee's intent but argue the root causes lie elsewhere.
“Since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect in January 2022, most companies have nearly doubled their safety budgets, yet accidents continue and the structural issues are worsening,” said a spokesperson for a large construction company.
Another spokesperson for a major builder said the government itself often insists on the lowest bids and shortened construction periods for both infrastructure and housing projects.
Field workers also point to “excessive” paperwork in safety manuals.
“Each ministry and client requires different document formats, so we often have to prepare the same information in multiple ways,” said a site worker from another large builder. “Paperwork can take up 50 percent of our work, reducing the time available to identify and address actual hazards.”
![One Posco E&C worker was killed and a subcontracted excavator operator suffered serious injuries after a tunnel under construction of the Shinansan line collapsed in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, on April 16. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/08/fc2a27f2-5611-491d-ba70-3b57552eca42.jpg)
One Posco E&C worker was killed and a subcontracted excavator operator suffered serious injuries after a tunnel under construction of the Shinansan line collapsed in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, on April 16. [GYEONGGI-DO FIRE SERVICES]
Another former site worker said that after an accident, compliance is checked against paperwork, with no way to confirm if the rules were actually followed in practice.
According to data from the Land Ministry’s Construction Safety Management Integrated Information system, more than 200 workers have died annually at construction sites since 2020.
Falls account for about half the deaths each year, followed by being buried, being struck by objects, being caught in equipment and collisions.
The annual death toll dropped 23.6 percent from 271 in 2021 — before the passage of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act — to 207 in 2024. But experts say the number remains high when considering slowdown in the construction sector.
Large builders argue that the industry's mortality rate should be assessed relative to its total number of workers rather than on an absolute basis. They also claim that major companies are increasingly passing on government projects due to unrealistic timelines and low budgets, leaving midsize builders to take on the work through low bids — a trend they warn could worsen structural problems.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG EUN-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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