“Recurring deaths at Daebul industrial complex… condemning subcontracting structure and inadequate measures’”, March 11, 2026

Local labour groups have condemned what they describe as structural evasion of responsibility by principal and subcontracting companies, as well as inadequate industrial safety measures by the government, following the death of a Cambodian migrant worker at the Daebul Industrial Complex in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province.

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They stated that “since 2025, 12 serious industrial accidents have occurred at the Daebul complex, and in January and February this year alone, eight workers have died at workplaces in South Jeolla Province”, adding that “inadequate safety measures by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the structural avoidance of responsibility by principal and subcontracting employers are leading to repeated accidents”.

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They further said, (…) “The Ministry of Employment and Labor must conduct special labour inspections across all workplaces in the Daebul complex, and investigative authorities must hold principal employers strictly accountable.”

The groups also called for the establishment of a “special taskforce on serious industrial accidents at the Daebul complex”, involving the provincial government, labour authorities, trade unions, migrant rights organisations and experts.