[2022 National Audit] 446 Deaths Since Enforcement of Serious Accident Punishment Act... Blind Spots Remain

Workers are working at a construction site in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Since the Serious Accidents Punishment Act came into effect, it has been revealed that 446 workers have died from industrial accidents as of last month. More workers have died in exempted workplaces where the law does not apply than in workplaces where it does, indicating that blind spots still exist.

According to the "Status of Serious Accidents Occurring Since the Enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act," submitted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor to Rep. Jin Seong-jun of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee on the 5th, there were 443 serious accidents (446 deaths, 110 injuries) from January 27 to September 30, since the law was enforced.

Among these, 156 accidents (35.2%) occurred at workplaces where the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applies, while 287 accidents (64.8%) occurred at workplaces where the law is not yet applied and is scheduled to be enforced in two years. There were 1.8 times more accidents in small-scale workplaces exempt from the law than in workplaces where the law applies.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act has been primarily applied since January 27 of this year to workplaces with 50 or more regular workers or construction projects with a contract amount of 5 billion KRW or more. The remaining workplaces will be subject to the law starting January 27, 2024, two years later.

In a work report on the same day, the Ministry stated, "The highest number of deaths occurred in the construction industry, especially in small-scale workplaces with fewer than 50 workers, where accidents frequently happened," adding, "Typical accidents such as falls and entrapments were common."

This year, there were 165 deaths in workplaces where the law applies and 281 deaths in workplaces where it does not. Notably, among the 165 deaths in applicable workplaces, subcontracted workers accounted for 107 deaths (65%).

Conversely, in non-applicable workplaces, primary contractor workers accounted for 204 deaths (72.6%), a higher proportion. This is presumed to be because the primary contractors in non-applicable workplaces are small-scale companies that either do not have subcontractors or are themselves subcontractors.

Rep. Jin said, "The high death rate of subcontracted workers in workplaces where the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was first applied clearly confirms the outsourcing of risk," and added, "The primary contractors must strengthen their management and supervision to create a safe working environment for subcontracted workers."

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