Hanwha Ocean Faces Union Backlash Over Disciplinary Actions Following Geojedo Yard Safety Incidents

Following a series of safety accidents at Hanwha Ocean's Geojedo shipyard, the labor union has risen in protest, demanding the company withdraw disciplinary measures imposed on on-site personnel.

On February 26th, one worker fell while operating a crane at the Geojedo facility. On March 3rd, two other workers were injured when construction materials fell. A joint investigation by labor and management, along with relevant authorities, identified non-compliance with on-site safety regulations and managerial negligence as the causes for both incidents. Specifically, it was pointed out as problematic that the risk of collision was evident when an 8.3m service tower was temporarily stacked in a 6.3m crane section, yet this danger was not communicated to the site.

Hanwha Ocean has issued a one-month suspension to three employees directly responsible for the accidents, and issued reprimands and warnings to the crane operator, foremen, and section leaders.

The union countered by arguing that the company is solely blaming on-site workers for the accidents and is ignoring structural causes such as workplace congestion, labor shortages, and flaws in the management and supervision system, raising issues of disciplinary fairness.

Hanwha Ocean maintains its stance, stating that the disciplinary actions are minimum measures based on the collective agreement, taken to prevent recurrence due to safety regulation violations. The company also stated it is making efforts to build a safe shipyard, having invested approximately 1.9 trillion won in safety since last year.