Fewer workers die at industrial sites, but government doubts on Serious Accidents Punishment Act

Workers work at a housing redevelopment site in Seoul, South Korea, on July 7, after the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced that the number of workers killed in industrial accidents fell from the previous year to 500 last year. By Cho Tae-hyung

Last year, the number of fatalities in industrial accidents decreased by 7.1 percent on-year. While some analysts say the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is having a certain effect, the government is still drawing a line in the analysis.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on March 7, 598 deaths and 584 fatal accidents were reported last year. The number of deaths and accidents decreased by 46 (7.1 percent) and 27 (4.4 percent) from the previous year of 644 and 611, respectively.

Apart from the existing statistics compiled based on the approval time of industrial accident, the ministry has been releasing the statistics on "fatal accidents subject to industrial accident investigation" based on the time of industrial accident since the first quarter of 2022.

When the ministry first released the 2022 statistics on fatal accidents subject to industrial accident investigation last year, it also included unofficial statistics (683 deaths) of 2021 for comparison.

Including the unofficial statistics, the number of fatalities fell for the second consecutive year, hitting the 500 mark for the first time.

By industry, there were 303 deaths in construction, 170 in manufacturing, and 125 in other industries excluding construction and manufacturing, down 38 (11.1 percent), 1 (0.6 percent), and 7 (5.3 percent) from the previous year, respectively. By size, the number of fatalities decreased in both workplaces with 50 or more employees, which have been subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act since January 2022, and workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, which have become subject to the act since January 27. The number of deaths in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees was 354, a decrease of 34 (8.8 percent) on-year, while the number of deaths in workplaces with 50 or more employees was 244, down 12 (4.7 percent) from the previous year, but the number of fatal accidents increased by 9 (3.9 percent).

By industry and size, the number of deaths at construction sites worth under 5 billion decreased by 45, but , the number of deaths at those worth over 5 billion increased by 7. In the manufacturing industry, the number of deaths in workplaces with less than 50 employees increased by 14, but the number of deaths in workplaces with more than 50 employees decreased by 15.

By type of accident, 251 people fell, 54 were caught, 43 were laid and flipped, 79 were hit, and 67 were hit by objects. The number of major accidents with two or more fatalities also decreased. In 2022, 20 fatal accidents killed 53 people, compared to 13 a year earlier, which killed 27 people.

The ministry attributed the decline in fatalities to a combination of factors, including the deteriorating economy, the effectiveness of the roadmap to reduce fatal accidents, and the continued expansion of the budget for industrial accident prevention.

The ministry cited the country’s sluggish construction economy last year, with construction starts and area down 24.4 percent and 31.7 percent, respectively, from the previous year, and also cited the decrease of manufacturing capacity utilization and production indexes, which were down 4.6 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.

It also noted that the implementation rate of risk assessment, which is the core of the roadmap to reduce fatal industrial accidents, more than doubled from 33.8 percent in 2019 to 71.8 percent in 2023.

However, the ministry reserved judgment on the effectiveness of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act in reducing fatalities. "The overall decline in fatalities last year was driven by workplaces with fewer than 50 employees (which are not subjected to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act)," said Choi Tae-ho, an occupational safety and health policy officer at the ministry.

He cited the different results by industry as the construction industry saw an increase in fatalities at construction sites worth more than 5 billion won last year, while the manufacturing industry saw a decrease in fatalities at workplaces with more than 50 employees.

However, the decline in fatalities for the second consecutive year and the 12 fewer deaths last year in workplaces with more than 50 employees, where the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was applied, suggests that the act is having a certain effect.

"It may be too early to evaluate the impact of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which has only been in effect for about two years, based on the follow-up index of accident death statistics." said Kang Tae-sun, a professor of safety management at Seoul Cyber University. "However, I believe that the act served as a shield because employment recovered after the coronavirus pandemic but there was no retrograde result.”

Ryu Hyun-chul, chairman of the Center for Working Environment Health, said, "The Ministry of Employment and Labor is devaluing the Critical Accident Act, an important opportunity to change the social atmosphere about safety and health."

"The Ministry of Labor is devaluing the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which was an important step in changing the social climate about safety and health.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.