[Report file] "If my limbs were cut off, I would have received sympathy"... the pain left behind

Others say it was 'already five years ago', but it was a long eons for Younghwan.

A tower crane crash at Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje Shipyard during an afternoon break on Labor Day 2017.

Six people were killed and 26 people were seriously injured.

The life and death of 'comrades who know when you cross one bridge' were mixed overnight.

Although it was slowly forgotten from people's memories, Yeong-hwan's daily life collapsed with the crane.

The horrific moment of his colleague was suddenly revived and persistently tormented Mr. Young-hwan.

On the day of the accident, 1,623 people officially went to work at Samsung Heavy Industries' Geoje Shipyard, most of them workers from subcontractors.

It is estimated that at least 500 of them witnessed the accident.

Yeong-hwan was one of them.

“In an instant (the crane) collapsed…. I was idly and at that moment, I heard the sound of the wire being cut. Whirring and whistling. Someone to my left was hit by something like a wire and fell over. Is this a dream? I can't even tell if it's real time....I can't remember the scene where there were people lying there at that time. For some reason, the memory has been erased now, but at that moment, I unknowingly took out my phone and took a picture." - 2017 Samsung Heavy Industries Crane Accident Witness Kim Young-hwan

The place where a colleague I worked with died...

transferred emotions

Ten days after the accident, Yeong-hwan returned to the shipyard site.

He tried to win his heart somehow, but as the days went by, he was more and more upset about trivial things.

He was only able to fall asleep after confirming that the sun had risen.

It was unbearably painful to see him angry at the sound of his young son running around.

"It was okay in the beginning. It was okay, but as it goes on, I become very sensitive to the sound. My son was seven years old at that time, so it's time to run around for a while. I don't want to hear him play or play. Even if I say it out loud, I get into a fight. I'm just starting to throw objects and I'm so angry, so even if I'm a little irritable, I'm just getting angry..."

"I'm the only one who witnessed the accident."

The world poured out sharp words to Mr. Yeong-hwan, who was suffering from an invisible wound.

It was difficult for him to understand his pain as he was confided to his friends and family, to anyone.

Emotions such as depression and anger, sadness and anxiety flooded him all at once, and he had to take antidepressants and sleeping pills to survive.

His post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic occupational accident recognition process was also arduous.

"Afterwards, I was rather envious of people who died. Later, I was very envious. I was just in a position to witness an accident. Even if I said that it was so hard and that I was sick, I tried not to admit it just because there was no precedent.”

Although Yeong-hwan was eventually recognized for his injuries due to trauma, there are far more people who have given up on applying for an industrial accident for fear of being on the 'blacklist'.

Rumors abounded that 'if you ask for trauma treatment (from the company), you may lose your income'.

It was not an unfounded fear.

Mr. Younghwan was also forced to sign a memorandum of 'no pain' and 'no need to go to the hospital' by a partner company executive during his industrial accident application process.

He has also been threatened with penalizing the team if he does not sign.

The 'process in which the company silenced what happened' was more hurtful than the accident itself.

Eventually, he left the workplace and his colleagues increased one by one.

"You can't see what hurts your heart"

Like Mr. Young-Hwan, the number of people who applied for industrial accident due to post-traumatic stress disorder is steadily increasing (refer to the table). This is a nearly three-fold increase compared to five years ago.

The problem is that the process of proving trauma is much longer than other industrial accidents.

Although early diagnosis and treatment are of paramount importance, it takes an average of at least six months or more to file an industrial accident claim and get approval.

It is not uncommon for people who want to work, but cannot work because of the hardship they are in, and their livelihoods are at a standstill.

Even if it is recognized as an industrial accident, there are many cases where the person concerned is already tired from the gaze of the people around him and social isolation.

Younghwan explained why it was difficult to stand in front of the camera again.

"The reason I keep doing interviews is because I really want my son to not be in an accident, and I want a world where he can be protected in case of an accident. I'm 12 now. (To my son) I'm so sorry."

Is it really 'their misfortune'?

Statistics that the size of the economic loss due to industrial accidents in Korea each year amounts to 20 to 30 trillion won did not touch my heart.

I've been writing articles all the time that subcontractors are mostly killed and injured because of 'outsourcing risk', but I haven't thought hard about how to change that reality.

However, my heart was heavy for a long time after I met the people whose lives were changed by the winds and waves of industrial disasters.

In the end, companies that did not sincerely apologize to the victims.

Although he had a calm voice throughout the interview, Yeong-hwan's face, which was not covered by the mask, was often scarred.

This was the reason I decided to write a story after the catastrophe that could not be covered in the news.

Investigative groups and experts formed after a major industrial accident agree on measures for the recurrence of a major accident.

In the end, what needs to be addressed is the problem of structure: 1) to prevent outsourcing only to reduce costs, and 2) to allow the subject who can control risks to have overall authority and obligations regarding occupational safety.

That is the first step in a change that can go beyond ad hoc incident response.

The atmosphere in the workplace is also important, where workers 'know what's dangerous and don't have to go on'.

It is not natural to work patiently even if it hurts, but it should be taken for granted that anyone who works, regardless of the type of employment, has the right to voluntarily stop work in a dangerous situation.

Yesterday (2nd), a worker in his 50s at Hyundai Steel fell into a large container that melts metal and died.

It seems that he had an accident while working alone to remove liquid metal impurities over 450 degrees.

Since the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Act, both the labor and management circles are now voicing one voice saying, 'We must stop dying at the industrial site'.

If so, you should ask.

After the law goes into effect, will the day of a person working in the worst place we don't know really change?

Did the worker who died yesterday think that the Serious Disaster Act was a breakwater to protect him?

It is difficult to easily answer the question of the return of the deceased workers and their families.

Accident Investigation Report by the National Participation Investigation Committee for Serious Industrial Accidents in the Shipbuilding Industry

Association for Workplace Accident Expulsion Movement, <Labor Accident Trauma>