"We don't want to see other victims like us any more. For the victims who do not know the sight loss is caused by the methyl alcohol poisoning and where to contact for help, we ask them to come forward at your earliest convenience."
The methyl alcohol(methanol) poisoning(5 victims) incident at supplier companies for Samsung Electronics early this year and the confirmation of additional two other victims shocked the society. The additional victims told at a press conference held in the National Assembly's press room on October 12 that they applied for the industrial accident compensation insurance. The press conference was organized by Rep. Han Jung-ae of the Minjoo Party of Korea, Rep. Kim Sam-hwa of the People's Party, Rep. Lee Jung-mi of the Justice Party and the Solidarity for Workers' Health.
The victims participated in the press conference were a Mr. Kim(29 years old) who worked at Deokyong ENG, a third-tier supplier company for Samsung Electronics in Bucheon City, for 3 weeks in mid-January this year and a Mr. Jung(35 years old) who worked at BK Tech, also a third-tier supplier company in Incheon City, for 4 months from September last year. Both of them are irregular workers illegally dispatched by the recruitment agencies and these using companies are responsible for the victims of the methyl alcohol poisoning.
After Mr. Kim worked in the night shift for 12 hours a day at Deokyong ENG for 3 weeks, in February he went to see a doctor due to short breath and deteriorating eyesight. Despite continuous medical treatment with a hope to get better, he has lost his right-side eyesight completely and his left-side eyesight is only 10%, barely to see the silhouette of the objects. Mr. Kim spoke out that he was not able to contact both the dispatching agency and the using company.
Mr. Jung went home early from work on January 22 this year, when he felt his eyes blurred and cold symptoms. Later on that day, he became unconscious at home and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. He is also barely able to see the silhouette of the objects, almost losing both sides of his eyesight. At that time the methyl alcohol poisoning was not known well to the society.
Taking advantage of such a situation, the company pushed Mr. Jung for a settlement by misleading him that the industrial accident compensation insurance will not be granted in his case after all. The end of the day he received a nonsensically small settlement money from the company.
Both victims attested that they did not have any safety training from the company and protective gears were not provided to them and suffered from the headaches due to alcohol smell. They said, "we did not know that we were exposed to the methyl alcohol all day long and no information was given on the harmful chemical substance."
They did not know the news on the methanol poisoning and the campaign to find out the unreported victims. In case of Mr. Kim, he came to know the methanol poisoning while he was asking a relative to find out a way to apply for the industrial accident compensation insurance. He said, "There would be some more victims, but I do not know those workers who worked with me at that time. But I heard from others that a Chinese worker lost his vision."
In case of Mr. Jung, the using company attempted to conceal the methyl alcohol poisoning. Although early this year the working conditions of BK Tech was inspected by the Ministry of Employment and Labor(MOEL), BK Tech did not inform the use of methyl alcohol and the existence of an additional poisoning victim to the MOEL.
Participants at the press conference spoke out in a voice that the worker dispatching system in the manufacturing sector is the direct cause of the methyl alcohol poisoning incident.
Rep. Han Jung-ae said that as 3 using companies of Deokyong ENG, YN Tech and BK Tech hired 100 dispatched workers in every 3 months, approximately 400 workers a year in total are estimated to have been exposed to the methyl alcohol. Nonetheless what the MOEL identified was only 266 workers and two additional victims(Mr. Kim and Mr. Jung) were not included in the identified name list.
Rep. Kim Sam-hwa made a request that the protection of workers' health right should be institutionalized before the government attempts to expand the use of dispatched workers to the manufacturing sector which is currently prohibited.
Rep. Lee Jung-mi of the Justice Party called on the government to survey the victims of methyl alcohol poisoning and the factories using the toxic chemical substances. Lee Sang-yoon, president of the Solidarity for Workers' Health said that the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service should promptly grant the approval for the applications for the industrial accident compensation insurance submitted by the two additional victims and make efforts other victims come forward.
reported by Yeon Yoon-jung
edited in English by Kim Sung-jin
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