Safety equipment lending to expand as skylight falls mount; joint campaign with NongHyup, Korean Hanwoo Association

A livestock barn at a cattle farm. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is launching a joint safety campaign with NongHyup and the Korean Hanwoo Association to prevent roof fall accidents at livestock facilities. [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]
A livestock barn at a cattle farm. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is launching a joint safety campaign with NongHyup and the Korean Hanwoo Association to prevent roof fall accidents at livestock facilities. [Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs]

Roof falls at livestock barns killed 28 people over the past three years, prompting the government, NongHyup and the Korean Hanwoo Association to launch a joint safety campaign to reduce industrial accidents on cattle farms.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced Tuesday it would run the campaign together with NongHyup Economic Holdings and the Korean Hanwoo Association to prevent accidents at livestock facilities.

Cattle barns used to raise hanwoo beef cattle, dairy cows and beef cattle often stand more than 5 meters tall, and the skylights installed on their roofs cannot bear a person's weight, making falls a serious hazard. Twenty-eight people died in roof fall accidents at livestock barns between 2023 and 2025, according to the ministry.

In response, NongHyup Economic Holdings plans to commit 700 million won (about $461,000) of its own budget to stock local livestock cooperatives with safety helmets, harnesses, safety ladders and skylight safety covers, which farms requiring roof work can borrow.

NongHyup will also deploy livestock consultants to brief farmers on fall-prevention guidelines. The outreach will focus on the mandatory use of helmets and harnesses when working at heights of 2 meters or more, and on the need to install skylight safety covers.

Industrial accident prevention education will also be expanded within the legally required training for livestock industry workers. Participants will receive informational materials listing the checks to complete before any roofing work begins.

The Korean Hanwoo Association plans to run ongoing safety campaigns for its member farms through education sessions and newsletters.

The ministry said it would also provide facility improvement funding to strengthen safety management at livestock barns and conduct on-site inspections in parallel.

"There can be no exceptions when it comes to building a safe working environment," said Park Jeong-hun, director general for food policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "We will work with relevant agencies to put practical safety measures in place so that livestock workers can do their jobs with peace of mind."


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