[Photo] Sixth tower crane collapses this year

17 workers have been killed by tower crane collapses at South Korean building sites in the past year, with the most recent accident occurring in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province on Dec. 9, which killed three people. This was the sixth accident involving tower cranes this year, including one in Uijeongbu in October that also killed three workers. Last month, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced new measures to prohibit the use of all tower cranes 20 years or older, and make stricter safety inspections of cranes older than 15 years. The latest accident has given ammunition to critics who insist that the government needs strengthen related safety laws with a greater sense of urgency. The photo shows a view of a construction site in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Dec. 18, where a crane collapse earlier this year killed one worker.