[2021 National Audit] 569 Foreign Workers Died from Industrial Accidents Over 5 Years

Democratic Party Lawmaker Yoon Joon-byung Discloses Ministry of Employment Industrial Accident Data

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that 569 foreign workers in South Korea have died from industrial accidents over the past five years.

According to data on foreign workers received by Rep. Yoon Junbyung of the Democratic Party from the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 14th, 569 people lost their lives due to industrial accidents from 2017 until June of last year. The number of foreign workers who suffered industrial accidents was 32,397.

Most foreign workers who experienced industrial accidents were engaged in labor-intensive manufacturing (15,093 cases) and construction (10,836 cases). Most industrial accident claims were accepted. The approval rate for industrial accident claims was 96.2%. Among 2,053 claims filed by undocumented workers such as illegal residents, 1,976 cases (96.2%) were also approved.

Rep. Yoon emphasized, "Since the Labor Standards Act prohibits discrimination based on nationality, all individuals providing labor are entitled to industrial accident compensation regardless of their legal status, including illegal residents."

He added, "Businesses operated by individuals rather than corporations in agriculture and fisheries with fewer than five regular employees still remain a legal blind spot, and it is highly likely that there are foreign workers who suffered industrial accidents but were unable to even file claims."

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