Fatal Aricell factory fire prompts stricter safety regulations to protect foreign workers

In response to the deadly Aricell factory fire that killed 23, including 18 foreign workers, the Labor Ministry will roll out tighter safety regulations.

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jeong-sik speaks at a briefing where the ministry unveiled new regulations and support measures for small businesses and foreign workers at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Labor and Employment announced tighter safety regulations and support measures for manufacturing facilities in an effort to protect foreign employees in response to the deadly fire that killed 23 Aricell factory workers.

The fire at the battery manufacturing plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, in late June resulted in the deaths of 18 foreign workers, the highest number recorded for any industrial accident in Korean history. The plan, announced Tuesday, includes up to 100 million won ($73,000) in financial support for workplaces to install fire detection and alarm systems or change passageway designs for better evacuation; conduct mandatory safety training for all foreign workers; and implement stricter risk assessment screening for firms.

The finances for the support measures will be partially covered by raising the rate for safety management expenses companies pay to contractors by an average of 19 percent, the Labor Ministry said. Safety management expenses are covered by companies for construction work, and the contractor is required by law to use the payment toward employee safety and health. The rate had been the same for the last 10 years.

Contractors were required to pay for 60 percent of the safety technology and equipment used to prevent accidents, while 40 percent had been covered by the safety management expenses. The burden on contractors will be cut down to 30 percent in 2025, and down to zero in 2026. Stricter risk assessment screening

The ministry also proposed a consultation program for industrial sites that have evaluated themselves to fall short of safety standards, which will provide consultations and mandate interviews with company heads within three months, with checkups six months after the consulting ends.

The Korea Risk Assessment System (KRAS), a safety evaluation system operated by the Korea Occupational Safety & Healthy Agency through which Risk Assessment Certification can be earned — and with it, a rate cut for industrial accident insurance — will be programmed to accommodate online testing for small businesses. The ministry is considering raising the certification criteria and slashing insurance rate cuts for businesses that experience serious accidents within three years of being certified.

Inspections will be conducted at 200 manufacturing facilities that are at high risk of fires or explosions and have not been reviewed in the last three years.

This is in response to criticism over the exemption of Aricell’s Hwaseong factory from inspection despite it being a high-risk production site, and three consecutive years of Risk Assessment Certification.

Safety training for foreign workers

The labor ministry will pursue an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act to require that foreign employees, regardless of visa type, receive the basic occupational safety education from relevant organizations according to their profession before and after they are hired.

Measures have also been outlined to facilitate better translations of safety instructions to prevent industrial accidents as well as the rollout of virtual reality experience programs for training.

Around 78.9 percent of the 923,000 foreign workers in Korea work at small businesses with under 50 employees, according to the Labor Ministry. These small businesses often lack strict safety management systems due to a lack of funds and personnel; in 2023, 78.4 percent of deaths from accidents occurred at such sites.

Foreign workers made up 10.5 percent of all worksite deaths in 2023. They are 1.4 times more likely to be involved in industrial accidents that lead to death than Korean nationals. Aricell investigation

The ministry also announced the results of the two-week investigation launched by the Central Disaster Management Headquarters into potential legal violations by Aricell that led up to the fire.

The company has been found guilty of breaching 65 safety and health measures, which include the improper installation of emergency exits; the absence of alarm systems such as gas detection devices; and a failure to designate areas with explosion risks. Judicial action has been taken against the 65 offenses, while the company will be fined for not carrying out mandatory safety training and medical examinations for its employees.

The Tuesday briefing, however, did not include certain results of key objectives in the investigation into Aricell and its labor practices, including whether the battery manufacturer had hired illegally dispatched foreign workers.

“The investigation into potential violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, Serious Accidents Punishment Act and Act on Foreign Workers’ Employment is still ongoing,” Lee Jeong-sik, labor minister and head of the Central Disaster Management Headquarters, said at the briefing on the investigation.

“We will identify the cause of the accident through a quick and thorough investigation and take strict measures in accordance with the law should any violations be confirmed.”

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]