Rising Number of Industrial Disasters Affecting Immigrant Workers.
According to a report released by the labor ministry on Friday, industrial disasters involving immigrant workers are increasing, particularly in small manufacturing and construction sites. The ministry anticipates up to 10,000 such cases this year.
From January to August, there were 6,715 applications for industrial disaster recognition filed by both registered and unregistered immigrant workers. Of these, 6,324 were approved, as reported by the ministry to Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party.
The number of industrial disaster cases involving foreign workers in Korea has been steadily increasing: 8,054 cases in 2019, 8,062 in 2020, 8,555 in 2021, 8,886 in 2022, and 9,543 in 2023.
This year, there has been an average of 839 cases reported each month. If this trend continues, the total number of cases is expected to exceed 10,000 by year-end.
A significant portion of the cases this year, 74.8%, came from the manufacturing and construction sectors. Additionally, 66.8% of the incidents occurred in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.
Korean Chinese workers made up 47.9% of the cases, followed by Chinese workers at 10%, Vietnamese at 6.1%, and Uzbek workers at 5.3%.
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