One in Four Workers Aged 60 or Older... Foreigners Make Up 10% of Total
First Entry into 800s in 2019 with Largest Decline
Increase of 27 Last Year Due to Icheon Logistics Warehouse Fire and Others
Ministry of Employment: "20% Reduction This Year, Top Priority"
On November 24 last year, at a focused rally urging the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act held by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in front of the Democratic Party of Korea headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, portraits of 99 workers who died due to industrial accidents were placed./Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Last year, the number of industrial accident fatalities increased by 27 from the previous year to 882, including the Icheon logistics warehouse fire. The pattern of accidents mainly occurring in construction sites with fewer than 50 workers, involving falls and entrapments, was repeated. About 40% of the fatalities were aged 60 or older, and foreigners accounted for over 10%. The government described this year's target reduction rate of 20% as the "most important priority" and pledged to achieve it without fail.
According to the '2020 Industrial Accident Fatality Statistics' released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 14th, the number of fatalities was 882, an increase of 27 from the previous year. In 2019, the number had first entered the 800s with a record decrease of 116 (a reduction rate of -11.8%), but it has increased again.
The 'fatality rate per 10,000 workers,' which indicates the number of industrial accident deaths per 10,000 regular workers, remained at 0.46, the same as in 2019. This means that 0.46 people per 10,000 died.
By industry, construction had the highest number of accident fatalities and fatality rate. Construction accident fatalities numbered 458, accounting for 51.9% of the total, an increase of 30 from the previous year.
Manufacturing followed with 201 deaths (22.8%). The fatality rates were 2.00 for construction and 0.50 for manufacturing. The construction fatality rate increased significantly from 1.72 in 2019.
By company size, 402 fatalities (45.6% of the total) occurred in workplaces with 5 to 49 employees, and 312 (35.4%) in workplaces with fewer than 5 employees. These represent increases of 43 and 11 respectively from the previous year. The fatality rates were 0.49 for 5 to 49 employees and 1.04 for fewer than 5 employees, rising by 0.05 and 0.04 percentage points respectively compared to the previous year.
Conversely, the number of fatalities and fatality rates in workplaces with 50 or more employees decreased. There were 131 fatalities (14.9%) in workplaces with 50 to 299 employees and 37 (4.2%) in workplaces with 300 or more employees, decreases of 16 and 11 respectively from the previous year. The fatality rates also declined to 0.29 (-0.04 percentage points) for 50 to 299 employees and 0.12 (-0.03 percentage points) for 300 or more employees.
By type of accident, 'falls' accounted for the highest number of fatalities at 328 (37.2% of the total). This was followed by 'entrapment' (98 deaths, 11.1%), 'collision' (72 deaths, 8.2%), 'struck by object' (71 deaths, 8.0%), and 'crushing/overturning' (64 deaths, 7.3%). Compared to the previous year, fatalities decreased in most accident types including falls, entrapment, collision, and crushing/overturning. However, deaths caused by fire (32) and being struck by objects (22) increased. In particular, the fire deaths were significantly influenced by the Icheon Han Express logistics warehouse accident on April 29 last year, which resulted in 38 deaths.
By age, those aged 50 and above accounted for 639 deaths (72.4%). Narrowing down to those aged 60 and above, there were 347 deaths (39.3%). In 2019, there were 285 fatalities aged 60 or older, so this represents a sharp increase of 62. The increase in fatalities in this age group was 2.3 times the total increase of 27 fatalities.
Foreigners accounted for a total of 94 fatalities, representing 10.7% of the total, down from 12.2% in 2019. Most of these fatalities occurred in construction (46) and manufacturing (38).
Earlier, on the 25th of last month, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the 'Measures to Reduce Industrial Accident Fatalities,' stating that "all ministries will concentrate their efforts to reduce accident fatalities by 20% this year," and maintained the same principle on this day. The policy directions for reducing industrial accident fatalities this year include strengthening safety management at high-risk workplaces, intensifying guidance and supervision of workplaces with poor safety management, and promoting the establishment of workplace safety and health management systems.
Kim Gyuseok, Director of Industrial Accident Prevention and Compensation Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, emphasized, "Reducing industrial accident fatalities by 20% this year is the Ministry's most important priority. We will do our utmost to reduce fatalities caused by falls and entrapments. We also hope that companies will make this year the foundation for establishing safety management systems in preparation for the enforcement of the 'Serious Accident Punishment Act' next year and strive to establish safety management."
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