Labor ministry orders fire and explosion checks as deaths double

South Korea's labor ministry said Sunday it will launch a focused inspection of workplaces at risk of fire and explosion, after deaths from such accidents doubled this year.

Deaths in fire and explosion accidents came to 32 through the second quarter, up from 16 in the same period last year, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said. Fatalities in manufacturing jumped to nine from four, even as overall accident deaths subject to investigation fell year-on-year. A fire at an auto parts plant in Daejeon in March killed 14 people, an explosion at a defense company in the same city in June killed five, and a fire at a factory in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, in August killed three.

Under the plan, companies will be given from Oct. 19 to Oct. 30 to check themselves, using a fire and explosion prevention checklist and the ministry's online self-inspection system. Inspectors will then visit workplaces from Nov. 2 to Nov. 13 to verify whether problems were fixed, focusing on whether prevention measures are in place on the ground: preventing sparks and embers from scattering, posting fire watchers during hot work, measuring gas concentrations and ventilating, suppressing and removing static electricity, and securing firefighting equipment and emergency evacuation routes.

Heads of the country's 49 regional labor offices will conduct unannounced visits themselves, and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency will check for fire and explosion risks during its patrol inspections and technical guidance. Violations will draw immediate fines and orders to fix the problems, and workplaces that fail to comply face judicial action.

Ryu Hyun-chul, head of the ministry's industrial safety and health bureau, said prevention is the strongest safeguard available. "Fire and explosion, once they occur, lead to large accidents in which many workers are harmed at the same time, so finding and removing risk factors before an accident is the best and strongest safety measure," he said.

He urged workplaces to use the self-inspection period to check hazards including sparks and embers, flammable gases and vapors, and static electricity, as well as firefighting equipment and emergency exits, and to fix shortcomings before the inspections begin.