South Korea’s largest shipbuilding company, HD Hyundai Industries, is temporarily halting operations at all of its domestic shipyards. This decision comes in response to recent fatal incidents at facilities in Ulsan and Gunsan, as well as at the subsidiary HD Hyundai Marine & Structure Company.

Reasons and Duration of the Suspension

The company announced a temporary production shutdown to conduct specialized safety training and comprehensive inspections at all sites, aiming to prevent further serious accidents. The suspension affects contractor projects with a total value of 17.58 trillion won (approximately 12 billion US dollars).

The three-day shutdown is scheduled to last from July 29 to July 31, with operations at the shipyards expected to resume on August 1. Exceptions include partially suspended work related to gondolas, as ordered by the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Office on July 19, and a partial halt of the panel assembly line at the Gunsan shipyard, following an order issued on July 25.

Additionally, from August 3 to August 13, work at the shipyards will again be paused for the annual summer holidays, resulting in an overall downtime of about two weeks.

Workplace Incidents

In April, a fire broke out on a submarine under maintenance at the Ulsan shipyard, resulting in the death of a subcontractor. On July 18, a foreign worker died after being trapped between a gondola and a work platform. Less than a week later, at the Gunsan shipyard, a subcontractor employee was killed after being caught between work equipment and a ship block.

Safety Measures

The company stated it will only resume operations once all necessary safety measures are in place and a safe working environment is ensured for all employees, including subcontractors.

As of publication, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has not provided any additional comments in response to inquiries.