One in 11 to 12 annual deaths is due to 'injuries' such as falls and traffic accidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] In 2020, 1 in every 11 to 12 deaths in South Korea was caused by injuries such as falls and traffic accidents.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency announced on the 16th that it has published the "12th National Injury Comprehensive Statistics," which integrates multi-institutional survey and surveillance data on injuries through collaboration among 12 organizations. According to the statistics, the number of people who required treatment at medical institutions due to injuries was 2.98 million (based on 2020), the lowest figure in the past decade. Compared to the previous year (3.71 million), this represents a 19.7% decrease.

The injury-related death rate was 51.5 per 100,000 people. Compared to 2011, the first year the comprehensive injury statistics were released, traffic accident deaths decreased by 38%, from 6,316 to 3,947. However, deaths caused by falls increased by 24%, from 2,144 to 2,663. Medical expenses due to injuries increased by 65.2% during the same period (from 3.0358 trillion KRW to 5.0147 trillion KRW). In 2020, injury-related deaths accounted for 8.7% of all deaths.

The main mechanisms of injury leading to hospitalization for 'occupational injuries,' which refer to accidents occurring during work, were blunt and penetrating injuries (40.5%) and falls (33.1%). By age group, those under 60 were mostly hospitalized due to blunt and penetrating injuries, while those aged 60 and above were mostly hospitalized due to falls. The Injury Prevention Management Division of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency stated, "Since the enforcement of the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Act' last year, we have presented focused statistical analyses on the topic of 'occupational injuries.'"

Children under 10 years old experienced many injuries caused by falls. Out of every 100 children, 2 visited the emergency room due to falls. Among children and adolescents under 17 years old, 4 out of every 1,000 experienced child abuse. People in their 10s to 40s suffered many injuries from transportation accidents. In their 50s, occupational injuries were common, with 43.2 out of every 10,000 experiencing industrial accidents. Among those aged 60 and above, falls were prevalent; among elderly people aged 70 and older, 1.6 out of every 100 visited the emergency room due to falls, 3.4 were hospitalized due to falls, and 2.6 out of every 10,000 died from falls.

Hong Ki-jung, Director of the National Injury Survey and Surveillance Project Central Support Group (Professor at Seoul National University Hospital), said, "The National Injury Comprehensive Statistics were planned to provide convenient access to injury statistics and to encourage interest in injury prevention," adding, "We will continue to include various statistics reflecting timely topics such as abuse and industrial accidents."