When a serious accident occurred at a North Korean steel mill on a national holiday, Kim Jong Un was immediately briefed about what happened.
“Amid the excitement over Victory Day, a work crew at the second blast furnace at Songjin Steel Mill was put to work on the holiday. During work, the crew leader was severely burned while handling superheated steam and was rushed to the hospital,” a source in North Hamgyong province told Daily NK on August 6.
Victory Day, on July 27, celebrates the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
Workers had to clock in on the holiday because of an emergency steel production order from the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
The Songjin Steel Mill party committee reported the accident to the senior party secretary in North Hamgyong province, who then conveyed it to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim made the following remarks after being briefed about the accident: “Production is important, but production that’s not based on safety is inhumane and contrary to the party’s values. This cannot, therefore, be ignored. Since this accident occurred on Victory Day, when the whole country is overflowing with joy, it must be dealt with immediately.”
The source told Daily NK: “In the past, the accident would have been handled by the provincial party secretary, but this time it was directly reported to Kim Jong Un. The Central Committee decided during a plenary session in June that any accidents at major companies in North Hamgyong province must be immediately reported, no matter how minor, and even on holidays. That decision came after an embarrassing incident in which a destroyer capsized during launch at Chongjin Shipyard.”
Kim Jong Un orders comprehensive safety review
According to the source, a joint task force consisting of officials from the Central Committee, the Cabinet, the Central Prosecutors’ Office, and the Ministry of State Security was urgently dispatched to Songjin Steel Mill to investigate safety issues and legal responsibility for the accident.
“This isn’t a typical investigation into the reasons behind the incident, but rather a comprehensive review of labor intensity, safety regulations and the shift system at the worksite. It was prompted by Kim Jong Un’s concerns that ‘the people in front of the machines are being treated like machines themselves day in and day out,’” the source said.
The accident was apparently due to simple carelessness on the job. But considering that workers were doing ten-hour shifts without breaks and had to come in on holidays because of pressure on the steel mill to increase output, officials say the accident was the inevitable result of sustaining long hours of grueling labor.
While the steel mill complained that long hours are essential for carrying out the Central Committee’s emergency production order, the investigation is moving forward anyway because of Kim’s comment that “no excuse can be given for sacrificing people’s lives,” the source explained.
“Kim Jong Un has given legally binding orders to minimize production on major holidays and reduce the workload to eight-hour shifts even for essential production,” an official on the task force said. “The government guarantees public holidays to protect people’s right to enjoy their lives. If the machines are run without breaks even on holidays, that’s political deceit and an organized falsehood.”
The cabinet wasted no time in giving the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry official orders to ban shifts exceeding eight hours and to roll out shorter workdays starting in September.
The investigation at Songjin Steel Mill is still underway, with officials reviewing the status of work assignments that involve similar levels of risk.
“With investigators calling for a change in ideological mindset and production culture, laborers observing these developments are hopefully remarking that there seems to be a genuine attempt to change things this time,” the source said.