Hwaseong factory fire exposes risks in illegal use of foreign labor

A family member of a victim of the battery factory fire in Hwaseong, shed tears at a memorial altar set up at Hwaseong City Hall on Wednesday. The fire, which broke out on Monday morning, resulted in 23 deaths. [YONHAP]

The Hwaseong battery factory fire, which resulted in the highest number of foreign worker deaths of any industrial accident in Korean history, has brought to light potential dangers in the illegal use of immigrant labor.

The 18 foreign workers who died in Monday's fire at battery maker Aricell's plant in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, were illegally dispatched to a manufacturing facility to participate in a direct production process, which is prohibited in Korea, according to an exclusive report by the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday.

This has led to criticism that outsourcing dangerous work to cut costs exacerbated the disaster.

"We are not a subcontractor but a dispatch agency that provides personnel for a fee," an employee from Maycell, the company that hired out foreign workers to Aricell on the day of the incident, told the JoongAng Ilbo during a phone call Tuesday. "All work supervision was done by Aricell, and we had never been to the factory."

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Park Soon-kwan, the head of Aricell's parent company S-connect, issued a public apology but denied that workers had been illegally dispatched. He also said safety training had been sufficient.

Maycell was established and registered as a primary battery manufacturer only on May 7. The company’s address was listed as the Aricell factory where the fire occurred — suggesting that Aricell used Maycell to create the appearance of an in-house subcontractor.

The Maycell employee said the company operated under the name Hanshin Dia until late April.

"Everyone does it this way," he said regarding creating the new company and using the Aricell factory address. "Because obtaining a labor dispatch permit is complex and involves frequent inspections by the Ministry of Employment and Labor."

Eleven of the foreign victims were on F4 Overseas Korean visas, according to the Ministry of Justice. Four had H2 Work and Visit visas, two had F6 Marriage Migrant visas, and one had an F5 Permanent Residency visa.

The predominance of F4 and H2 visas indicates that most of the deceased were Korean-Chinese, or joseonjok.

The Labor Ministry said businesses must obtain a special employment permit to employ foreign workers with H2 visas. This permit is only available to specific industries and companies with 300 employees or fewer or capital of 8 billion won ($5.75 million) or less.

However, Aricell's capital stands at 25 billion won, and Maycell, which directly hired the workers, did not obtain the special employment permit, the ministry found.

Legal experts and activists criticized the country's prevalent use of dispatched foreign labor to cut costs and avoid responsibilities.

"The disaster stems from the Korean industrial sector's addiction to cheap labor," said Choi Jeong-kyu, a lawyer from Law Firm Wongok. "The simple tasks the workers performed — packaging batteries — do not qualify for a legal dispatch.

"Temporary and short-term workers are inherently vulnerable to inadequate safety training and emergency preparedness," he added.

Hwang Pil-gyu, a lawyer from the human rights law foundation GongGam, emphasized the need for a thorough investigation and support for the families of the deceased migrant workers.

"While temporary support to help bereaved families enter the country is good, it is crucial to ensure they can live in Korea stably and receive information throughout the investigation process, which will take a long time."

While foreign workers make up about 3 percent of the total employed in Korea, they account for 11 percent of fatalities from industrial accidents. In other words, they account for a wildly disproportionate share of industrial fatalities.

Despite the rapid increase in foreign labor, with the foreign worker population surpassing 900,000 in May last year, foreign workers tend to fill positions in day labor, construction and manufacturing, which Korean workers often shun.

The businesses employing them are small and often lack sufficient safety training. Many foreign workers who are less proficient in Korean cannot understand the safety training and are often placed in hazardous situations without proper education.

The labor authorities booked Park Soon-kwan and two other Aricell factory executives on charges of violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act on Wednesday.

"We will conduct a swift and thorough investigation and take stern action if any violations are confirmed," said Min Gil-soo, head of the regional accident response headquarters at the Labor Ministry.

BY SUK GYEONG-MIN, NA UN-CHAE, SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]