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Korean prosecutors announced that they were indicting the CEO and 17 managers at Hyundai Heavy Industries on violations of health and safety regulations. They cited numerous incidents of safety violations at the company’s shipyards and said they would be investigating the safety culture and protocols at the headquarters and company’s operating locations.

In announcing the indictments, prosecutors said that there had been three fatal accidents this year and a total of five deaths at the yards in the nine months between September 2019 and May 2020. A total of 635 safety violations were also identified during regular and special safety inspections undertaken by the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Among the fatal accidents, they provided details on the death of a subcontractor working at the Ulsan shipyard. They reported that the pipe fitter suffocated on September 20, 2019, while working on a tank installation and two other workers also died in other suffocation incidents. Another worker died at an underwater maintenance facility and a worker died after falling from a height of over 55 feet.

In addition to the CEO, the indictments were filed against current and former leaders of the company’s business divisions and field managers, as well as subcontractors and suppliers. The enforcement effort is part of enhanced safety regulations and can result in heavy fines.