473 Suicides Recognized as Industrial Accidents Over 5 Years... "Many Cases of Concealment Such as Workplace Bullying"

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] It has been revealed that there were 473 suicides recognized as industrial accidents over the past five years.

On the 16th, Yong Hye-in, a member of the Basic Income Party, received and analyzed data on suicide industrial accidents from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, the Ministry of Personnel Management, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Private School Teachers' Pension Service for the years 2017 to 2021. The analysis showed that 473 suicide deaths were recognized as industrial accidents. This means that nearly 100 workers took their own lives each year.

Last year, a total of 114 suicides were recognized as industrial accidents, including 88 workers under the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act, 10 public officials, and 16 soldiers. This represents a 31% increase compared to 87 cases in 2020.

According to statistics from the National Police Agency, the total number of suicides in 2020 was 12,776, of which 492 were classified as caused by "workplace or job-related issues." The number of suicides recognized as industrial accidents in 2020 was 87, but the member's office estimated that 82.3% of cases that the police considered workplace or job-related either did not apply for industrial accident recognition or applied but were not recognized.

Representative Yong stated, "Workplace bullying is a crime that can drive people to death," and explained, "The discrepancy between the National Police Agency statistics and the industrial accident suicide statistics shows that there are more concealed suicide industrial accidents." She added, "The Workplace Bullying Prohibition Act should also apply to workplaces with fewer than five employees and to special employment workers who are in more vulnerable working environments."

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