[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] On November 10, 2025, at the Hanla Encom quarry located in Haemi-myeon, Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, a worker A in his 60s from a subcontractor was hit by a falling rock while clearing rubble with an excavator after blasting the quarry. He was seriously injured and taken to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, but died the following evening on the 11th.

Police and labor authorities are thoroughly investigating whether this fatal accident was caused by occupational negligence resulting in death and whether it violated the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act.

Hanla Encom is known as the site management company, and the victim, as a subcontractor, was unaware of safety management, which has emerged as a key issue in this accident. According to police, the accident occurred when rocks fell onto an excavator while it was clearing rocks immediately after blasting. Despite the initial response of the Seosan Fire Department and police, the victim went into cardiac arrest at the scene and died after being transported to a hospital.

Rockfall accidents are a constant threat at domestic quarries and mines. According to statistics from the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, the number of deaths from quarry and mining-related industrial accidents is expected to increase slightly in the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen safety management in industrial settings. Safety training and improved working conditions for subcontractors are emerging as key issues.

This accident coincides with the death of a worker in his 60s in a rock collapse while working on an excavator at a quarry in Ulsan last October, and is raising public calls for stricter safety standards and more effective monitoring at the government level to ensure the safety of workers at quarry sites.

The police and the Ministry of Employment and Labor are considering both the contractor and the subcontractor involved in the recent rockfall accident at the Hanla Encom quarry as workplaces subject to the Serious Disaster Punishment Act, and plan to conduct a detailed investigation into the circumstances of the accident to clarify who is responsible for safety management.

While the domestic industrial accident fatality rate has been gradually decreasing over the past five years, the frequency of accidents remains high in high-risk industries like mining and quarries, highlighting the urgent need to strengthen enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act. The government is pursuing a multifaceted approach, including strengthening on-site supervision and expanding training programs for workers, to reduce the hundreds of industrial accident fatalities that occur annually.

An industry insider said, "This rockfall accident at the Seosan Hanla Encom quarry has once again highlighted the reality that subcontracted workers are exposed to dangerous work," and added, "It is expected to be recorded as an incident that warns of the urgent need for institutional supplementation and strengthening of on-site execution capabilities to prevent industrial accidents and spread safety culture."