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๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea /Elections & Politics

President Lee orders probe into Hanwha Aerospace blast, demands report on repeat accident sites

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • President Lee Jae-myung ordered a thorough investigation into the Hanwha Aerospace explosion and requested a separate report on facilities with repeated accidents.
  • The explosion at the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Daejeon marks the third such incident, resulting in a total of 13 deaths.
  • Lee emphasized the need to respect human life and questioned whether society sufficiently values individual lives.

President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday called for a thorough investigation into the explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant, which caused fatalities, and urged measures to prevent recurrence. "Relevant authorities must thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and make every effort to establish measures to prevent reoccurrence," Lee stated.

Relevant authorities must thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and make every effort to establish measures to prevent reoccurrence.

โ€” President Lee Jae-myungAddressing the explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant.

The president offered condolences to the deceased and wished for the swift recovery of the injured. He also directed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to expedite safety inspections at similar facilities. "It is a serious problem when accidents of the same type occur repeatedly within the same facility," Lee said, demanding a separate report on businesses that have experienced such recurring incidents.

It is a serious problem when accidents of the same type occur repeatedly within the same facility. Please expedite safety inspections at other similar facilities.

โ€” President Lee Jae-myungDirecting the Ministry of Employment and Labor to report on facilities with repeated accidents.

This marks the third explosion at the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon plant, with previous incidents in May 2018 and February 2019 resulting in a total of 13 deaths. Lee reflected on the nature of work, stating, "The workplace, where people go to live, sometimes becomes a place of death." He questioned society's respect for human life, asking, "Do we respect the lives of others as much as our own? Is the life of one person, which is a universe in itself, treated equally?"

The workplace, where people go to live, sometimes becomes a place of death.

โ€” President Lee Jae-myungReflecting on workplace safety and fatalities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.