[2020 National Audit] 19 Deaths and 632 Injuries Among Korail Employees in the Past 10 Years

On-site Workers Injured Annually 40-80
'Kkiim' Injuries 130 Cases... Most Frequent

(Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Over the past decade, 632 employees of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) have been injured and 19 have died due to work-related reasons. It has been pointed out that measures are needed as 40 to 80 employees are injured by industrial accidents every year.

According to data submitted by KORAIL to Jang Kyung-tae, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, from 2010 to 2019, there were 632 injuries and 19 deaths caused by work-related reasons over the 10 years.

This year, up to August, 45 employees have been injured in industrial accidents.

Looking at the status of fatalities and injuries during work: ▲2010 - 2 deaths, 80 injuries ▲2011 - 1 death, 68 injuries ▲2012 - 0 deaths, 80 injuries ▲2013 - 1 death, 62 injuries ▲2014 - 2 deaths, 57 injuries ▲2015 - 6 deaths, 55 injuries ▲2016 - 1 death, 43 injuries ▲2017 - 4 deaths, 53 injuries ▲2018 - 1 death, 67 injuries ▲2019 - 1 death, 67 injuries.

The causes of industrial accidents were led by 'being caught' with 130 cases, followed by 'falling' with 122 cases, 'collision' 89 cases, 'being hit' 78 cases, 'falling from height' 75 cases, 'excessive motion' 67 cases, 'cutting, slicing, stabbing' 39 cases, 'electric shock' 26 cases, 'traffic accidents' 20 cases, and 'burns' 5 cases.

For the Korea National Railway Corporation, the figures were ▲2012 - 2 injuries ▲2013 - 3 injuries ▲2014 - 2 injuries ▲2015 - 1 death, 2 injuries ▲2016 - 1 death, 2 injuries ▲2017 - 1 injury ▲2018 - 6 injuries ▲2019 - 10 injuries.

Over 10 years, there were 2 deaths and 28 injuries.

Assemblyman Jang said, "Just looking at the industrial accident status of field workers at KORAIL and the Korea National Railway Corporation, it is presumed that the number of industrial accidents at contracted construction sites, which are called risk outsourcing, is much higher," adding, "Potential risk factors must be controlled in advance, and the creation of a safe workplace should prioritize the lives and safety of workers."

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