Industrial accidents and free labor continue even after the tragic death of an on-the-job trainee

Second anniversary of the death of Hong Jeong-un, who died during on-the-job training: Members of the National Specialized High School Union hold a demonstrating in memory of Hong Jeong-un, a student who died trying to remove barnacles from the bottom of a yacht when receiving on-the-job training at a yacht company in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do, in front of the government office building in Seoul on October 8. Kwon Do-hyun

On October 6, 2021, Hong Jeong-un (eighteen at the time), a student at a vocational high school, died after he dived into the sea to remove barnacles from a yacht bottom when receiving on-the-job training at a yacht company in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do. The task was not in the standard agreement for on-the-job training, which Hong signed with the company.

The company told Hong to dive even though he did not have any related licenses. They also failed to follow the safety regulations, which stated that a team of two divers should dive with a safety manager present. Two years after the death of Hong, specialized high school students are still forced into an unsafe environment where they are exploited unjustly in the name of on-the-job training.

Last year, Gim (19) and Jeong (19), seniors at a specialized high school in Seoul, received on-the-job training at a sign manufacturing firm. The girls frequently worked more than the maximum weekly working hours (40 hours). They received no overtime pay. Most of the work instructions were given in language that lacked respect.

When the students called and asked the company what time they had to show up for work during their graduation exams, they were fired. When they informed the school that they were dismissed, the school simply told them to “keep going to work.” The school put down on its records that the two students “voluntarily” quit in the middle of their training. After graduation, Gim went to the company along with another student who had gone to the school earlier and asked them to see her employment contract. After hearing about this, the person in charge at the school scolded Gim, asking her “Why did you take your boyfriend or whoever that was?”

On October 18, according to the information that the office of Democratic Party of Korea legislator Seo Dong-yong received from the Ministry of Education, there were a total of 53 industrial accidents involving a trainee from a vocational high school in the last five years. Among them 31 cases were recognized as industrial accidents by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service, and over two-thirds of them (20 cases) occurred in engineering-related schools. Five accidents occurred to students in agricultural life science schools and four in commerce and information-related high schools.

As for the types of injuries, the most were fractures with ten cases. Students broke their toes when objects fell while they were organizing materials or fractured their shins and ankles after crashing against a forklift.

During the same period, there were also 125 cases where vocational high school students receiving on-the-job training had their rights violated. Most frequent were overtime exceeding the training time (47 cases), followed by improper treatment (27) and sexual harassment (24).

In the last three years, the number of industrial accidents and rights infringements of on-the-job trainees has constantly increased from 32 in 2020 to 42 in 2021 and 44 in 2022.

The status of industrial accidents identified by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service is different from the figures from the education ministry. The education ministry numbers are based on the status of industrial accidents posted on HiFive, a portal for specialized high schools.

Unlike this, the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service identifies industrial accidents based on the information that the training student submitted when subscribing to an industrial hazard insurance. According to the service, there were 29 industrial accidents involving an on-the-job trainee in the last five years--fewer than those identified by the education ministry.

Lawmaker Seo Dong-yong said, “To establish measures to prevent industrial accidents involving student trainees, securing accurate statistics and understanding the current status is top priority.” He further said, “We need to actively cooperate with the Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service centered on the education ministry to actively engage in protecting the rights and interests of training students.”

Starting October 19, the nation will enforce the amendment of the Vocational Education and Training Promotion Act, also known as the Next Sohee Prevention Act, which expands the scope of the Labor Standards Act for on-the-job trainees. From now on, the government can impose a fine of up to 10 million won for companies that treat their trainees improperly. Bullying inside the workplace is also prohibited.