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POSCO E&C CEO Jeong Hee-min delivers a statement at the company’s headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, on July 29, addressing a string of fatal workplace accidents. President Lee Jae-myung had criticized the company that morning over repeated industrial accidents at its sites. / Yonhap

A 30-year-old migrant worker was critically injured in an apparent electrocution at a POSCO E&C construction site in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, less than a week after President Lee Jae-myung publicly rebuked the company over repeated fatal industrial accidents.

According to police, the incident occurred at 1:34 p.m. on August 4 at the Gwangmyeong–Seoul Expressway extension project, which is being handled by POSCO E&C. The victim, a Myanmar national in his 30s, suffered cardiac arrest following the suspected electrocution and was transported unconscious to a nearby hospital.

Investigators believe the accident happened when the worker entered an underground area 18 meters below ground to inspect a malfunctioning water pump.

This comes just days after POSCO E&C temporarily halted work at all sites for safety checks, only resuming operations at the location on the day of the accident.

The case follows a fatality on July 28 at the Hamyang–Changnyeong Expressway project site, which prompted President Lee’s criticism during a cabinet meeting on July 29. Despite the establishment of POSCO Group’s Safety Special Task Force directly under Chairman Jang In-hwa on July 30, another serious incident has now occurred within five days.