A battery plant under construction in Georgia. AFP/Yonhap News. 

The construction site of Hyundai Motor Group's Metaplant complex in Georgia, where approximately 300 South Koreans were arrested and later released by U.S. immigration authorities, had a notorious reputation among construction workers for frequent safety accidents even before the large-scale surprise raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 12th (local time).

Since construction of the plant began in 2022, a total of three construction workers have died, a high number considering the project's significant scale with a total cost of $7.6 billion (approximately 10.9 trillion Korean won), the newspaper pointed out.

According to the report, the first fatal accident occurred in April 2023, six months after the groundbreaking ceremony. A worker in his 30s, employed by a subcontractor, fell 18 meters from a steel structure at the paint shop while installing steel beams. He was wearing a safety rope at the time, but it snapped on the sharp edge of the steel structure, leading to the tragedy.

The other two fatal accidents occurred at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant, which was the focus of the ICE's surprise raid last month.

In March, a site worker was killed by a forklift, and in May, another worker died when cargo fell from a forklift.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating these fatal accidents. OSHA has received reports of 11 injuries at the Hyundai Motor Metaplant complex in 2024, the WSJ reported.

Following the series of safety accidents, Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution have also intensified their safety management efforts at the construction sites.

Jose Munoz, President of Hyundai Motor Company, visited the construction site in March after the fatal forklift accident to inspect workplace safety. The company hired additional safety personnel and conducted a safety management audit across the entire complex construction site.

"We have taken immediate and comprehensive action to ensure this does not happen again," Munoz said in a statement. "I went to Georgia to emphasize that safety takes precedence over production schedules, costs, profits, and everything else," the WSJ reported him as saying.

LG also told the WSJ that the company prioritizes safety and does not tolerate illegal employment or labor practices, the newspaper reported.

Nevertheless, the series of fatal accidents since March has directly prompted local media and labor organizations to focus on and highlight the safety management and labor conditions at the Hyundai Motor Metaplant construction site.

Some believe that the continuous reports of alleged illegal activities at the construction site by labor organizations may have led to the immigration authorities' raid in September.

Earlier, U.S. authorities arrested a total of 475 individuals, including approximately 300 South Koreans, who were employees of LG Energy Solution and its partners, at the Hyundai Motor-LG Energy Solution joint battery plant construction site in Georgia on the 4th of last month. The approximately 300 South Koreans arrested were released after seven days of detention and returned to South Korea.

Federal authorities raid a plant in Georgia, USA. Reuters/Yonhap News. 

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