Posco CEO apologizes for accidents at steel mills
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Update time : 2021-02-22 18:07:24
Posco Chairman Choi Jung-woo apologized for not being able to put a stop to accidents at the company’s steel mills and reiterated his vow of making them “zero hazard” plants during a parliamentary committee hearing on Monday.
“I am deeply sorry for having caused worries to people and the bereaved families. We have put safety as the utmost priority and made various efforts under such context but fell under expectations,” Choi said during the hearing.
The parliamentary committee hearing conducted by the Environment and Labor Committee was the very first one centered on industrial accidents. The parliamentary committee called in representatives of nine companies in construction, logistics and manufacturing industries that recorded a multitude of industrial accidents in the past two years.
In the hearing, Choi also apologized for his earlier attempt to excuse himself from the hearing, citing chronic back disease.
Choi had submitted a non-attendance statement, but made an eleventh-hour decision to come to the hearing after facing mounting criticism over evasion of responsibility.
According to the steelmaker’s labor union, a total of 14 deaths have been observed since Choi was appointed in July 2018. Of them, eight have been confirmed as industrial accidents by the Labor Ministry.
A most recent case took place on Feb. 8, when a subcontractor employee died while replacing a conveyor roller at Pohang steel mill. The Posco chief visited the plant on Feb. 17 and issued a public apology.
