Ulsan tragedy sparks mourning, renewed safety concerns

At the funeral hall of Ulsan Hospital in Nam District, the wife of one victim collapsed to her knees. In a framed photo, her husband wore a black suit and tie, a faint, gentle smile on his face. After staring at the picture for a long moment, she lowered her head and broke into sobs, her cries filling the once-silent room.

Around 3 p.m. on Thursday, a memorial altar was set up for Jeon, 49, who was killed when a boiler tower at Korea East-West Power’s Ulsan plant in Donghwa-dong, Nam District, collapsed the previous day.

“He was so busy with work that he and his wife only registered their marriage and never had a ceremony,” a relative said tearfully. “He was always hardworking and never stopped moving.”

According to his family, Jeon lived in Seoul and traveled across the country taking temporary labor jobs. He once ran a butcher shop but closed it after business declined. In search of better-paying work to support his family, he began working as a day laborer. This time, he had taken a short-term contract job in Ulsan, where tragedy struck.

His wife, overcome with grief, could barely stand and had to be supported by Jeon’s younger brother as she moved in and out of the funeral hall. “The building didn’t collapse. Our hearts did,” a family member said. “Every time we see accidents like this on the news, we hope they won’t happen again, but they keep happening.”

Families who lost loved ones in the collapse could not contain their sorrow. At the funeral hall of Jungang Hospital in Nam District, where the body of another victim, Lee, 64, was temporarily placed, relatives who arrived after hearing the news broke into tears. They entered quietly but soon wept uncontrollably, standing in disbelief as they struggled to come to terms with the loss.

At the accident site the previous day, an elderly couple told a reporter through tears, “Our son is trapped there. Do you know exactly where the site is?” The victims were men in their 30s to 60s, including one in his early 30s, highlighting the tragedy’s wide impact.

As families mourned, questions resurfaced about industrial site safety. Despite repeated calls for stronger oversight, fatal accidents continue in South Korea’s construction and energy sectors, leaving workers and their families to bear the consequences.


울산=천종현 punch@donga.com