Metal Workers’ Union Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch: “Measures must be prepared for fatal accidents at Kumho Tires.”

The Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the National Metal Workers' Union claimed on the 3rd, "Repeated worker deaths at Kumho Tire are not simple mistakes, but management failures."

The union held a press conference in front of the Gwangju Regional Employment and Labor Office on this day and said, “Six serious accidents have occurred at Kumho Tire over the past three years.”

He went on to point out, “The equipment at the Gwangju factory, where a worker’s death recently occurred, was installed in 1971 and is old,” and added, “Even though workers have to approach and work on dangerous equipment, safe work methods were not prepared.”

He also urged, “Labor authorities must check whether the problems identified in past major disaster supervision have actually been improved, and conduct a thorough inspection of the facilities at the Gwangju and Gokseong factories,” and urged them to “come up with effective measures to prevent recurrence.”

At around 4 p.m. on the 31st of last month, a worker in his 30s got caught in equipment at the Kumho Tire Gwangju factory in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, Jeollanam-do.

He was taken to the hospital and underwent surgery, but he died the next day, and labor authorities and police are investigating the cause of the accident and whether there was negligence.