"'Extreme Choice' Industrial Accident Claims Double... Actual Approvals Only Half"

Jikjang Gapjil 119 "First Time Since Statistics Began, Number of Applications Exceeds 100"

The number of industrial accident claims due to extreme choices has nearly doubled in one year. The photo is unrelated to the article content.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] The number of industrial accident (san-jae) claims filed due to extreme choices nearly doubled in one year.

According to data received on the 19th from the civic group Workplace Bullying 119, Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in, and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, the number of industrial accident claims filed last year due to death from mental illness (extreme choice) totaled 158 cases. This is an 81.67% increase compared to 87 cases in 2020, the previous year.

This is the first time since statistics began in 2013 that the number of industrial accident claims due to extreme choices exceeded 100 cases.

▲2014: 47 cases ▲2015: 59 cases ▲2016: 58 cases ▲2017: 77 cases ▲2018: 95 cases ▲2019: 72 cases ▲2020: 87 cases ? the number of claims had consistently remained in double digits but has now jumped well into triple digits.

In addition to general office workers, there were also 26 cases of public officials who died from mental illness and filed for death-in-the-line-of-duty claims.

Park Sung-woo, a labor attorney at Workplace Bullying 119, explained, "South Korea has the highest rate of extreme choices among OECD countries, and half of these are office workers," adding, "The actual number of office workers who have made extreme choices is estimated to be much higher."

However, the actual recognition rate of industrial accidents for these cases remains low.

According to Workplace Bullying 119, among the 158 industrial accident claims filed last year due to death from mental illness, 88 cases (55.7%) were recognized as industrial accidents, a 14.4 percentage point decrease from 61 cases (70.1%) in 2020.

The recognition rates were ▲37.7% in 2013 ▲29.8% in 2014 ▲37.3% in 2015 ▲34.5% in 2016 ▲57.1% in 2017 ▲80.0% in 2018 ▲65.3% in 2019. The rate falling to the 50% range is the first time in four years since 2017.

The same applies to public officials. According to data received by Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in from the Ministry of Personnel Management and the Government Employees Pension Service, only 10 out of 26 cases filed for death-in-the-line-of-duty due to mental illness were actually recognized as industrial accidents.

In July 2019, the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act introduced a provision recognizing diseases caused by stress from workplace bullying as "work-related diseases." However, in practice, there must be a causal relationship between workplace bullying and mental illness for it to be recognized as an industrial accident.

Workplace Bullying 119 explained, "There are cases where the victim does not inform those around them about the workplace bullying or does not receive a diagnosis from a psychiatric hospital," adding, "There are also many attempts by the perpetrators to conceal the bullying, making it difficult to have the case recognized as an industrial accident."

They further argued, "The burden of proof on victims should be eased, the recognition period for industrial accidents shortened, and the scope of recognition expanded by listing various mental illnesses in the law."

※ If you have difficult feelings such as depression or know family or acquaintances going through such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling at the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1393, Mental Health Counseling 1577-0199, Hope Phone 129, Life Phone 1588-9191, or Youth Phone 1388.

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