18 foreign workers died in fire...what was the problem?

Recently, in Korea, a fire broke out at a lithium battery factory in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do on June 24, killing a large number of foreign workers, which has become a social problem. Of the 23 people who died, 18 were foreign workers. They were not directly employed by the company Aricell, but belonged to a labor dispatch agency. Some are pointing out that hiring low-wage foreign workers to cut costs increased the damage. Let's see what the problem is.

What is the nationality of the deceased foreign worker?

According to the Ministry of Justice, of the 18 dead, 17 were Chinese nationals and one was Laotian nationality. Their visa status is 11 people on overseas Korean (F-4) visas, 4 people on visiting and working Korean visas (H-2), 2 people on marriage immigration (F-6) visas, and 1 person on permanent resident (F-5) visas. are you. F-4 visas and H-2 visas are visas mainly issued to overseas Koreans, and many of those who died were Chinese Koreans. There are no unregistered foreigners.

Many Chinese compatriots are working in Korea because it is easy for them to learn Korean from a young age and come to Korea by obtaining a visa.

However, in order to hire foreigners with H-2 visas, you must obtain a ‘special employment permit,’ but there are suspicions that a company called Aricell engaged in illegal employment by hiring them without a special employment permit.

Dispatched work, what’s the problem?

Employees hired directly by the company receive the same high wages as other employees and receive thorough safety training. Also, because I know the company's internal structure well, I can respond properly when problems arise.

However, workers dispatched by other companies do not receive proper safety training and are not familiar with the company's internal structure, so they cannot properly respond to a fire. This fire started at the entrance to the workplace, but the dispatched workers did not evacuate through the emergency stairs, but instead went into the workplace where there was no escape, resulting in increased damage.

What does Aricell company say?

Park Soon-kwan, CEO of S-Connect, Aricell's parent company, held a press conference at the scene of the accident and said, "We are very sorry that so many lives were lost due to the fire accident, and above all, we offer our deepest condolences and apology to those who died in the fire accident and their bereaved families. ” “But there was no illegal dispatch, and safety training was sufficient,” he said. However, there is a high possibility that Aricell's mistakes will be revealed through future investigations. Above all, it is pointed out that manpower was supplied through a temporary agency to reduce costs and avoid liability.

Choi Jeong-gyu, a lawyer at the law firm Wongok, said in an interview with a media outlet, “Man-made disaster arose in the Korean industrial field, which is addicted to cheap labor.” “Manpower that should have been directly hired was illegally and expediently hired through dispatch.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice plans to support the bereaved families of deceased foreign workers so that they can enter Korea as soon as possible, obtain relevant information, and receive compensation for damages.

Mary Eve of Papaya Story