23 Cities and Counties in the Province, Including Suwon and Yongin, Participate
Coverage for Work-Related Risks of Public Veterinarians
Including Injury, Death, Sequelae Disability, and Fracture Diagnosis Fees
Gyeonggi Province will support the subscription to group accident insurance for public veterinarians starting February, becoming the first metropolitan local government to do so.
According to the province on the 3rd, the group accident insurance for public veterinarians is a coverage insurance effective for one year from this month, involving 23 cities and counties within the province (Suwon, Yongin, Goyang, Hwaseong, Namyangju, Pyeongtaek, Uijeongbu, Gwangju, Gwangmyeong, Gunpo, Yangju, Osan, Icheon, Anseong, Guri, Uiwang, Pocheon, Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Dongducheon, Gwacheon, Gapyeong, Yeoncheon).
Currently, 145 public veterinarians are active in Gyeonggi Province, responsible for public animal health tasks such as disease surveillance of industrial animals, vaccine administration, and protection and treatment of abandoned animals and stray cats.
Due to the nature of their work, public veterinarians are frequently exposed to safety risks such as being kicked or bitten during animal restraint or vaccination processes. However, before system improvements, individuals had to bear the treatment costs for accidents occurring during official duties.
The Korean Veterinary Medical Association recently reported that over the past three years (2022?2024), accidents occurring during work among public veterinarians included 19 cases of contusions on the abdomen, knees, and thighs, and 17 cases of fractures to ribs, kneecaps, and nasal bones.
In response, Gyeonggi Province explained that to strengthen the safety net and compensation system for accidents and injuries that may occur during public veterinarians’ official duties, efforts such as guideline preparation and budget securing have been made since August last year, resulting in the achievement of “the first metropolitan local government support for group accident insurance for public veterinarians.”
The accident insurance covers risks related to public veterinarians’ work, including injury, death, sequelae disability, fracture diagnosis fees, cast treatment fees, traumatic amputation diagnosis fees, and emergency room visit fees for dog bite accidents. Additionally, it includes a mental health consolation payment item to strengthen coverage for psychological trauma that may be experienced while performing quarantine duties.
Lee Kang-young, Director of the Livestock Animal Welfare Bureau of Gyeonggi Province, stated, “Although social disaster-type livestock infectious diseases such as African swine fever and highly pathogenic avian influenza continue to occur, there are many difficulties in recruiting livestock quarantine officials, making it a time when the role of public veterinarians needs to be strengthened. It is necessary to enhance protection for public veterinarians who risk accidents while performing quarantine duties on the ground, and based on this year’s project results, we will supplement shortcomings and further strengthen coverage.”
Meanwhile, since November last year, Gyeonggi Province has revised the guidelines for the operation and selection of public veterinarians to promote the entry of young veterinarians into public veterinary service, appoint public veterinarians as livestock quarantine officers, and implement a system for appointing part-time public veterinarians who do not perform routine surveillance activities but carry out tasks such as vaccine administration when necessary. These measures have been implemented from this year to strengthen public animal health services.
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