Workers at Samsung Heavy Industries have been granted broader rights to suspend work, and the company has stated that it will cover part of the losses incurred by its partner companies.
Samsung Heavy Industries recently announced that it has further refined its relevant policies to ensure that workers can fully exercise their right to stop work and immediately halt operations in hazardous situations. To this end, Samsung Heavy Industries held a “Declaration of the Right to Stop Work” ceremony at its Geoje Shipyard in South Gyeongsang Province to safeguard workers’ safety rights.
Samsung Heavy Industries stated that the right to stop work, as a company policy, allows all shipyard employees to immediately report any safety risks—even minor ones—via a mobile app and stop work if they believe they or their colleagues are in danger.
Samsung Heavy Industries has explicitly stipulated that any adverse treatment of shipyard workers exercising their right to stop work is strictly prohibited, and has introduced a number of related policies and measures, such as compensating for lost working hours resulting from work stoppages and recognizing outstanding cases.
Recognizing that work stoppages lead to reduced working hours and losses for partner companies, Samsung Heavy Industries, as the general contractor, will bear these losses and provide incentives.
A Samsung Heavy Industries official stated, “Safety is the top priority in management. The company will spare no effort to create a shipyard where everyone can work safely… The right to stop work will serve as a watershed moment, significantly improving Samsung Heavy Industries’ safety management system.”
In 2025, Samsung Heavy Industries experienced multiple safety incidents.
On May 8, 2025, a subcontractor at Samsung Heavy Industries was struck by flying debris, resulting in the amputation of his arm. Fortunately, the debris did not strike any other part of his body; otherwise, the incident could very likely have been fatal. On the 27th, a subcontractor was fatally injured when he became trapped while repairing a monorail on a ship under construction; On December 22, a subcontractor fell from a height of 21 meters while preparing for painting work on a crude oil tanker and tragically died.