Launching a war on what he called “workplaces of death”, South Korea’s new president Lee Jae Myung says companies will be fined 5% of their operating profits if they record three or more deaths a year.
The move, along with extra funding for worksite inspections, comes after seven workers died when a boiler tower they were demolishing in the city of Ulsan collapsed on them on 6 November.
Industrial deaths are high in South Korea compared to other developed countries.
In the first three quarters of this year, 457 people died at work, according to provisional third-quarter data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labour, up by 14, or 3.2%, from the same period last year, Korea JoongAng Daily reports.
Lee, who had his hand and arm crushed in two accidents while working in factories as a child labourer, told Reuters: “There has been a perception in South Korea that we should sacrifice some casualties in order to push the country to grow faster. If we don’t bring a fundamental change to such perceptions, no policy would work.”
The Korea Times reports that South Korea averages 3.9 deaths per 100,000 workers, above the OECD average of 2.6 per 100,000, with construction the country’s most dangerous industry.
Reuters notes that South Korea has the OECD’s second-highest construction fatality rate, with 15.9 deaths per 100,000 workers.
- Subscribe here to get stories about construction around the world in your inbox three times a week
Further Reading:
