Incheon pilots pre-work safety checks for manhole work

The ministry is tightening scrutiny of local public enterprises that run services close to residents. Incheon Environment Corporation has been selected for a management diagnosis after poor safety results, and its high-risk sites will pilot pre-work approval checks.

This year's evaluation of 268 local public enterprises put more weight than last year on safety, regional cooperation and public services. The ministry selected five for management diagnoses, including Incheon Environment Corporation because its number of serious safety accidents was high for its type and its recent evaluation results had fallen sharply.

In July last year, five people died in water and sewage manholes in Incheon and Seoul. On June 12, six people were injured in sewage manholes in North Jeolla Province and Incheon. Workers can lose consciousness from oxygen deficiency or harmful gas, then fall; unprotected colleagues entering to rescue them can become second victims.

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency will distribute its Manhole Work Safety Guide to 224 local governments and public institutions. It covers testing oxygen and harmful-gas concentrations, ventilation, supplied-air respirators and rescue tripods. Since July 31, 2025, local governments have been required to confirm advance safety measures before all manhole work they contract or commission.

A pre-work safety-confirmation system will be piloted at Incheon Environment Corporation sites where manholes and other work carry a suffocation risk. Video or on-site checks will verify oxygen and harmful-gas levels and ventilation before approval. "The public sector must lead by example in protecting the lives and safety of local communities," Kim Young-hoon, minister of employment and labor, said.