SUBCONTRACT WORKERS EXPOSED TO DANGER

[Anchor Lead]

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which was enforced back in January, serves as a warning to employers to protect their workers from fatal workplace accidents. KBS has found that even after the law's implementation, workers of subcontractor firms are still the most vulnerable.

[Pkg]

No one is seen at this electric power construction site, where all the machinery has ground to a halt. A worker died here recently when a steel structure fell from a crane. The deceased individual was managed by a subcontractor firm.

[Soundbite] (Local Resident (VOICE MODIFIED)) : "The steel structure fell from a crane because it wasn't fixed properly."

The Ministry of Employment and Labor immediately began deliberations on applying the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. It was the 155th accident since the law's enforcement. KBS has found that 165 workers have passed away in workplace accidents since the law was implemented. As many as 107 of them, or 65 percent, were subcontractor workers. Workplace accidents occur at main contractors' work sites, but nearly twice as many subcontractor workers are killed when they happen. This serves as proof that even after the implementation of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, subcontractor workers still risk their lives in their workplaces. Only about 13 percent of accidents investigated by the labor ministry in line with the law were transferred to prosecutors for indictment. It contrasts with the number of cases to which the Occupational Safety and Health Act was applied during the same period.

[Soundbite] (Ministry of Employment and Labor official (VOICE MODIFIED)) : "The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is about overall safety management. It involves a lot of paperwork and piles of documents from attorneys."

Investigations into workplace accidents have been slow, and the only case that led to actual indictment was the acute poisoning of 16 workers in Changwon back in February.

[Soundbite] Rep. Jin Sung-joon(Environment and Labor Committee) : "It may be about prudence, but authorities still seem to be reluctant to hold owners of large conglomerates liable."

Even in the very first case investigated in line with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act the Yangju quarry accident no decision has been reached on indictment yet.