KOSHA "Supporting Construction Safety Facilities up to 20 Million KRW... Preventing Fall Accidents"

Support for Integrated Work Platform Rental Costs and Safety Net Purchase Costs
Budget of 55.4 Billion KRW Allocated... 72.2% Increase Compared to Previous Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) will support the rental costs of integrated work platforms (system scaffolding) and the purchase costs of safety bats at small-scale construction sites.

KOSHA announced on the 21st that it is carrying out this project to prevent fall accidents at small-scale construction sites with construction costs under 5 billion KRW. The project budget is 55.4 billion KRW, an increase of 23.2 billion KRW (72.2%) compared to the previous year.

The support targets construction sites with a contract amount under 5 billion KRW, expanding not only to general contractors but also to specialized construction subcontractors. However, it is limited to subcontractors holding licenses for both rebar and concrete work and scaffolding and structure dismantling work. Up to 20 million KRW per construction site can be supported, and if one business owner manages multiple sites, support is available for up to three sites annually.

The rental cost for integrated work platforms is supported up to 20 million KRW depending on the installation area. The purchase cost of safety bats is supported differentially according to the construction amount: 65% for sites under 300 million KRW, 60% for sites between 300 million KRW and 2 billion KRW, and up to half for sites between 2 billion KRW and 5 billion KRW.

Applications for installation cost support can be made by visiting the local KOSHA office or through the Clean Project website.

Park Doo-yong, Director of KOSHA, said, "Small-scale construction sites often lack sufficient financial capacity to properly manage safety," adding, "We hope that this practical financial support to prevent fall accidents and fatalities will secure safety at the sites and protect the precious lives of workers."

Meanwhile, as of November last year, 404 people died in construction site accidents. Among them, 266 people (65.8%) died at small-scale sites with construction costs under 5 billion KRW. Of the fall fatalities, 183 people (68.7%) occurred at sites under 5 billion KRW.

The accident rate at supported sites was 2.74% from 2013 to 2018. The accident rate at unsupported sites was 3.05%, 0.31 percentage points higher.

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