The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service has carried out its second round of a program designed to help the families of migrant workers killed in industrial accidents bring their loved ones home with dignity.
Following the program's debut in March, the agency again provided support covering every step of the process — from the family's arrival in South Korea through their departure — as part of its broader effort to strengthen workers' compensation and bereaved-family support for migrant workers.
According to the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service on Tuesday, the beneficiary of this round was the family of the late Aung Min Oo, a Myanmar national who died July 1 after being caught in a conveyor belt while working at a KTX rail expansion site. His family traveled to South Korea to accompany his remains back home.
The agency guided the family through the workers' compensation and repatriation procedures. On the day of departure, it set up a memorial and waiting area inside the airport, held a dedicated time of remembrance, and presented a condolence payment funded by employee contributions to the agency's social contribution fund. Staff members also accompanied the family to the boarding gate to assist with departure.
This was the second time the program has run, following support provided in March to the family of a Vietnamese worker who died in an industrial accident. Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service President Park Jong-gil attended the airport in person, as he had in March, to offer condolences and see the family off. The agency said it intends to establish the program not as a one-time event but as a sustainable public service.
The agency has been expanding support for migrant workers in response to their growing presence in South Korea's industrial workforce. According to a Ministry of Justice investigation, the number of employed foreign nationals in the country rose from 843,000 in 2022 to about 1.109 million last year. Because many of these workers are employed in high-risk sectors such as manufacturing and construction, the agency said, the need for accessible workers' compensation and strong family support has grown accordingly.
"As foreign workers play an increasingly important role in South Korea's industrial workplaces, the public sector has a critical responsibility not only to protect their safety and rights but also to treat their bereaved families with proper respect," Park said. "We will further strengthen our people-centered workers' compensation service and fulfill our social responsibilities as a public institution."
The agency currently operates a dedicated Vietnamese-language counseling service and provides workers' compensation guidance in multiple languages. In June, it held a meeting with labor attachés from 11 countries' diplomatic missions in South Korea, including those of Indonesia and the Philippines, and plans to continue expanding its support network for migrant workers and their families through cooperation with related agencies.
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