39 Deaths in Public Construction Accidents Last Year... Government Urges "Industrial Accident Prevention"

Ministry of Employment Holds Disaster Prevention Meeting with 10 Major Public Institutions on the 24th
Attendees Include LH, KEPCO, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Rural Community Corporation, and Korea Water Resources Corporation

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Employment and Labor held a disaster prevention meeting on the 24th with safety executives from the top 10 public institutions with the highest construction project order amounts in Korea.

The meeting was attended by Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), Korea Electric Power Corporation, Korea National Railway, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Rural Community Corporation, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Korea Gas Corporation, and Korea Southern Power.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of fatal accidents in public construction projects last year was 39 (provisional). This accounts for 8.6% of the total 458 construction industry fatalities. In particular, the top 10 public institutions accounted for 37 deaths, representing 95% of all public institutions.

The Ministry urged the attending executives to take a leading role in preventing construction disasters as project owners.

An official from the Ministry explained, "Construction project owners decide important matters such as construction direction, project duration, and budget, thus greatly influencing all stages of the construction project. To prevent industrial accidents in construction, the role of the project owner is as important as that of the contractor."

According to the revised Industrial Safety and Health Act, which began to be enforced on January 16 last year, construction project owners are required to prepare and manage safety and health logs for all stages of the project.

Park Youngman, Director of the Industrial Accident Prevention and Compensation Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, "We ask public institutions to establish a proactive prevention management system led by public institutions so that they can fulfill their social responsibilities and sufficiently play a role in preventing industrial accidents."

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