Accident fatalities through Q3 hit record low since tracking began

Gains in small worksites, fall accidents; manufacturing fires remain a challenge

Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon makes an unannounced visit to a veterinary hospital construction site at a university in Nam-gu, Busan, on Oct. 16 to inspect safety measures aimed at preventing collapse and burial accidents. [Yonhap]
Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon makes an unannounced visit to a veterinary hospital construction site at a university in Nam-gu, Busan, on Oct. 16 to inspect safety measures aimed at preventing collapse and burial accidents. [Yonhap]

"I think this is the effect of having a former labor worker serve as labor minister."

That was what President Lee Jae Myung told Employment and Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. The president had just received a report showing that accident fatalities subject to disaster investigations reached 366 through the third quarter of this year — down 91, or 19.9 percent, from the same period last year. It was the first time since the statistics began being compiled in 2022 that the cumulative third-quarter death toll had fallen into the 300s.

Lee called the figures "a truly groundbreaking achievement." Recalling how, during his time as Gyeonggi Province governor, he had likened firefighters to "minor gods," he encouraged those present, saying, "The minister and labor inspectors have given life to someone. You are doing truly great work." He drew applause from those in attendance and instructed Prime Minister Han Seong-sook to "give out awards and words of encouragement — don't wait until the end of the year."

Behind the applause, however, the ministry has its own concerns. Within the Occupational Safety and Health Bureau, voices are emerging about whether such a steep decline can be sustained. The good news of falling fatalities has, at the same time, placed a heavier burden on the officials responsible for keeping the trend going.

The drop was driven by small workplaces and construction sites — long considered blind spots for safety enforcement. Fatalities at worksites with fewer than five employees and construction projects worth less than 500 million won ($377,000) fell from 137 through the third quarter last year to 103 this year, a decrease of 34, or 24.8 percent. Total construction-sector deaths dropped from 210 to 150, a decline of 60, or 28.6 percent. By type of accident, fall-related deaths fell from 199 to 124, down 75, or 37.7 percent.

Some, however, attribute part of the decline to a slump in the construction industry rather than to safety efforts alone. The question of what is actually driving the numbers was raised as early as August, at a presidential briefing. Kim Chun-seong, a resident of Seosan in South Chungcheong Province who attended as a member of a public participation panel, asked at the time — in reference to the cumulative second-quarter figures — about the possible effect of the construction downturn. "The numbers have come down through effort, and I think that needs to continue," Kim said. "But we need to know the exact cause behind the results."

The ministry maintains that its prevention activities — sending inspectors to high-risk sites to verify safety measures — have been effective.

Ryu Hyeon-cheol, head of the ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Bureau, pushed back on the construction-slump theory. "It is not consistent to say that a downturn in any particular industry reduces the number of accident fatalities," he said. "In 2022, when construction activity was strong by completion-value measures, fatalities fell; last year, when completion values declined, fatalities actually rose." He added, "At the very least, I would assess that the downward trend in construction-sector industrial accidents reflects a policy effect that goes beyond economic fluctuations."

For the inspectors working in the field, accident fatality statistics carry a weight that goes beyond job performance. One official at the bureau said inspectors work so hard that when an accident occurs at a worksite shortly after an inspection, "the inspector in charge feels not just embarrassment but guilt." The official added, "Even so, when one major accident hits, it can produce a huge number of deaths all at once — so we are always on edge."

While construction fatalities fell, manufacturing deaths rose. Manufacturing-sector fatalities increased from 119 through the third quarter last year to 132 this year, up 13, or 10.9 percent. Major accidents played a significant role — a fire at Anjeong Industrial in March killed 14 people, and an explosion at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant in June killed five.

With some already arguing that the construction slump inflated the overall improvement, the rise in manufacturing deaths cannot be brushed aside. The ministry must sustain the prevention activities that proved effective on construction sites while also developing measures tailored to the specific hazards of manufacturing. The ministry plans to intensify inspections and prevention efforts at worksites with fire and explosion risks through the end of the year.

On the same day the president praised the decline in workplace deaths, a fatal accident was reported from a manufacturing site. On Tuesday afternoon, authorities received a report that a foreign worker in his mid-30s, employed by a subcontractor at the Samyeong Machinery casting plant in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, had been fatally caught in a press component that suddenly activated while he was inspecting a molding machine. The ministry launched an investigation into the cause of the accident and potential violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act or the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Behind the headline figure of "an all-time low" lie two diverging trends: falling deaths in construction and rising deaths in manufacturing. Authorities must examine precisely what drove fatalities down — and identify what hazards were missed at the sites where deaths increased. That a manufacturing worker was killed on the very day the president offered his praise is a reminder that the work is far from over.

Lee himself did not stop at praise. "Still, 366 people who did not have to die lost their lives at work — that is not a small number," he said, urging further reductions. After the Cabinet meeting, Kim posted on his social media account with the hashtag "#StartingOverFromToday."

Sejong Backbrief is a series by a Sejong-based correspondent covering informal background briefings on government policy announcements, as well as the context behind policy decisions and behind-the-scenes stories from the government district. The series aims to deepen readers' understanding of policy and share news from the world of civil servants, offering both information and an inside look at how government works.


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