South Korea labor ministry releases 117 more industrial accident reports
In short
South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor said it published 117 additional industrial accident investigation reports on its website on October 7. The reports cover the circumstances, causes and prevention measures of serious accidents, and the newly released batch concerns 2023 cases whose court rulings are final. The ministry said it will keep expanding disclosure, including for cases that are indicted and still on trial.
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South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor said on October 7 that it had published 117 additional industrial accident investigation reports on its website, to be used in preventing accidents at workplaces. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
An accident investigation report is drawn up when a serious accident occurs, by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency or related experts, and sets out the circumstances of the accident, its causes and measures to prevent recurrence, Yonhap and NoCut News reported. [ 2 , 3 ]
The 117 newly released reports concern cases that occurred in 2023 and whose court rulings are final. Under the amended Occupational Safety and Health Act, which took effect on June 1 this year, reports on serious accidents occurring after that date are subject to disclosure, but the ministry said it is also actively disclosing reports on cases that predate the law. [ 2 , 3 ]
NoCut News reported that the ministry had previously released 51 reports on May 27 and that those have since been viewed more than 50,000 times, about 1,000 views per report. It said a dedicated board allows users to search the reports by industry, size, region and accident type, and that they can be read on the ministry's website, under information disclosure, and on the KOSHA industrial safety portal. [ 3 ]
The ministry said it will continue to disclose the reports as public information for preventing industrial accidents. It added that it will also release, in stages, reports on cases that have been indicted and are still on trial, in light of the intent of the amended law; no schedule for that was given. [ 2 , 3 ]
Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon said the ministry would actively disclose the reports so that companies on the ground can use real serious-accident cases to prevent similar accidents. He said that if the reports are used to identify and improve hazardous and risk factors in one's own region and industry, the preventive effect would be high. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The reports are published as public reference material so that companies can compare their own sites and industries with real accident cases and act on the hazards identified. The ministry's decision to move toward releasing reports of cases still in court goes beyond its legal disclosure duty, which applies to serious accidents occurring after June 1 this year, and could widen public access to safety information.
Key facts
- The Ministry of Employment and Labor published 117 additional industrial accident investigation reports on October 7. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Accident investigation reports are drawn up by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency or related experts and set out the circumstances, causes and measures to prevent recurrence of a serious accident. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The 117 newly released reports concern cases that occurred in 2023 and whose court rulings are final. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Under the amended Occupational Safety and Health Act, which took effect on June 1 this year, reports on serious accidents occurring after that date are subject to disclosure; the ministry said it is also actively disclosing reports on cases from before the law took effect. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The ministry previously released 51 reports on May 27, and those have been viewed more than 50,000 times, or about 1,000 views per report, according to NoCut News. [ 3 ]
- The reports can be searched by industry, size, region and accident type on a dedicated board, and are available on the ministry's website and the KOSHA industrial safety portal. [ 3 ]
- The ministry said it plans to gradually disclose reports on cases that have been indicted and are still on trial, in line with the intent of the amended law. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The Ministry of Employment and Labor released 117 additional industrial accident investigation reports on October 7. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The reports set out the circumstances and causes of serious accidents and measures to prevent them from recurring, and are written by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency or related experts. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The newly released batch covers 2023 cases whose court rulings are final. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The ministry intends to keep expanding disclosure of the reports and to release reports on cases still on trial in stages. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- No date or schedule has been given for when reports on cases that are indicted and still on trial will be published. Both the ministry's announcement and the NoCut News report say only that disclosure will proceed gradually.
- One of the Newsis documents carries a headline about the additional disclosure of the reports while its article text is about an unrelated rocket launch. The document's two parts do not match; only its headline relates to this event.