Industrial accidents involving foreigners increase rapidly... 10,000 cases expected to occur for the first time this year

The number of industrial accidents caused by foreign workers is still high, and it is predicted that the number of cases will exceed 10,000 for the first time this year.

According to data that National Assembly member Lim Ja-ja recently received from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, the number of applications for industrial accidents by foreign workers from January to June of this year reached 4,950. By type, there were 4,614 industrial accidents caused by accidents and 336 industrial accidents caused by diseases. The number of foreign workers who died in industrial accidents this year reached 69.

If this happens, the number of foreign industrial accident applications this year is likely to exceed 10,000 for the first time in history.

It is a well-known fact that the incidence of industrial accidents among foreigners is significantly higher than that of domestic workers. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the number of foreigners who died in serious accidents last year was 85, or 10.5% of the total (812). This year, as of March, the number of deaths has risen to 24 out of 213, or 11.2%.

As of May last year, there were 923,000 foreign workers in Korea, accounting for only 3.2% of the total employed, but the death rate exceeds 10%.

According to the status of industrial accidents over the past five years (2017-2021), the industrial accident rate by industry is overwhelmingly high at 47.8% in the construction industry. This is followed by manufacturing at 36.5%, service at 8.9%, and agriculture and fishing at 4.8%. By region, the metropolitan area accounted for 51.9% of the total, including Gyeonggi-do 37.3%, Seoul 7.3%, and Incheon 7.3%.

Looking at nationality, 60.5% are Chinese (including compatriots), 6.9% are Thai, 5.6% are Vietnamese, 4.2% are Nepalese, and 4.2% are Uzbekistan.

Last June, a fire broke out at the battery manufacturer Aricell factory in Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, killing 18 foreign workers, the largest number of deaths in a single accident.

The reason why the industrial accident rate among foreign workers is high is because the number of foreign workers is increasing, especially in the so-called 3D industries that Koreans avoid.

In order to reduce industrial accidents for foreigners, formal industrial safety education and management must be strengthened. We need to strengthen multilingual industrial safety education and safety infrastructure at industrial sites so that foreigners can understand it.

Mary Eve of Papaya Story