Small and medium-sized home appliances also embark on work-related accident countermeasures under the Serious Disaster Punishment Law

Cuckoo Electronics, which produces electric rice cookers, recently announced that it will automate machine tool equipment at its Yangsan plant in Gyeongsangnam-do and replace its aging equipment. Considering the recently enacted Serious Disaster Punishment Law, the aim is to minimize accidents. A company official said, "We are looking for predictable problems and have prepared an extensive manual." "We are also preparing to acquire the International Standard Safety and Health Management System (ISO)." ISO 45001 is the ISO international standard for occupational health and safety management management systems for worker safety. ○ Full-time organization In the industry, small and medium-sized home appliance manufacturers such as Cuckoo Electronics have declared a series of battles against industrial accidents. It seems that the Serious Disaster Law is not a problem only for industries with frequent industrial disasters such as construction and chemicals and large companies included in the 10 major groups. According to the Serious Disaster Law, the CEO of a company that has suffered a worker fatal accident will be punished by imprisonment with work for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than 1 billion won (about 96.15 million yen). Not only that, occupational accidents also affect ESG (environment, society, control structure) management. If a serious accident occurs or the occupational accident rate increases, points will be deducted in the ESG evaluation. Coway established a new industrial safety team in March last year to focus on accident prevention. He cares about managing door-to-door sales staff called coordinators. Thousands of coordinators thought they were working outside and could have a safety accident. A company official explained that "special form workers such as door-to-door salespeople are also subject to the Serious Disaster Law" and "has significantly strengthened safety and health education." A body friend famous for massage chairs has recently set up a team dedicated to safety and health. We inspected the safety facilities of major factories and distribution centers, and began to supply basic safety equipment such as safety shoes and safety caps. "We have a major manufacturing plant in China, and we are most concerned about the fire hazards that can occur in distribution warehouses in South Korea," said a bodyfriend official. "We regularly inspect and train." .. Similarly, SK Networks' home appliance rental subsidiary "SK Magic" newly established a serious accident response team at the management strategy headquarters of the head office at the beginning of the year. Apart from the accident management team (SHE team) at the Hwaseong Plant, which produces major products, it is said that it is embarking on safety, health management and disaster prevention at all business sites. Chung Honais, a water purifier manufacturer, has set up a safety and health committee chaired by the head of the in-house manufacturing division, and is preparing to establish a new safety department. ○ Exercise of shareholder rights Experts expect that the number of companies that manage industrial disasters will continue to increase at the ESG management level. Industrial disasters are an item that ESG evaluation agencies pay attention to in the S (social) sector. According to Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), the world's largest evaluation organization, "worker health and safety" accounts for up to 13% of S evaluations (energy industry). Experts explain that companies with a sudden increase in the occupational accident rate will be deducted. If a serious disaster such as a worker's fatal accident occurs, the impact will be even greater. You will lose additional points in the "controversy" item. “Large” stock markets, such as global asset management companies, are also paying attention to the topic of industrial accidents. Won Shin-ho, who heads the stewardship team in the Asian region at BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, said, "Based on the enforcement of the Serious Disaster Law, we have decided to include industrial disasters in ESG issues at the general meeting of shareholders." Stated. He emphasized that "Korea is classified as a country where industrial disasters occur more frequently than its economic scale" and "sends a clear message to companies through the exercise of voting rights."

Kim Dong-hyun