[Interview] Reducing Industrial Accident Deaths to the 700s This Year

On-site Patrol Inspections with No Blind Spots
"Industrial Safety Directly Linked to Work Efficiency... Neglect Leads to Greater Losses"

Park Doo-yong, Chairman of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, is being interviewed on the 19th at the Seoul Metropolitan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency in Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) has set a bold goal to reduce the number of fatal accident victims, which reached 11.34 million in 2012, to the 700s this year. Having reduced the number of industrial accident fatalities in Korea to 855 last year, entering the 800s for the first time in history, the agency is confident in achieving this target.

Director Park Duyong explained, "Last year, we focused on the construction industry and fall accidents as the main targets, devising a strategy of selection and concentration. Using a patrol method, all regional headquarters and branches of the agency inspected the risk of fall accidents at all construction sites under their jurisdiction."

In fact, the agency distributed 27 patrol-dedicated vehicles to frontline institutions and temporarily suspended existing projects with low effectiveness. Nearly all personnel (1,155 people) were deployed for patrols, conducting 47,799 inspections at a total of 39,178 sites in the second half of last year alone.

Regarding this year’s direction, he said, "The patrol project has been formalized, and it will expand from the construction industry to manufacturing industry entrapment accidents. Through the regularization of the patrol project, 30% of all workplaces will be selected as high-risk workplaces, and patrols will be conducted at 30% of these sites. The worst 3% of workplaces will be reported to the Ministry of Labor for supervision, implementing a '30-30-3 strategy.'"

Reducing industrial accident fatalities is not only about "protecting precious lives and reducing unfortunate incidents." In the mid to long term, it can strengthen the competitiveness of individual companies and the nation. Director Park emphasized that companies should not approach safety issues merely from a cost-saving perspective. He stated, "As of 2018, the direct and indirect losses from industrial accident compensation payments, recovery costs, and production loss costs exceed 25.1 trillion won. Especially, related losses have been increasing annually over the past five years." He added, "Considering the adverse effects on external corporate image and labor-management conflicts, neglecting industrial safety to save costs is foolish."

In fact, the number of lost workdays due to industrial accidents reached 52.75 million days as of 2018, which is more than 95 times the 550,000 lost workdays caused by labor disputes. Director Park said, "As the data shows, industrial accident issues must now be addressed from the perspective of industrial competitiveness and the national economy. Especially in a low birthrate and aging society, protecting the existing workforce is a crucial national task that should precede any social welfare."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.