>> In 2023, the number of approved survivor benefits for accident fatalities decreased by 62 to 812 compared to the previous year.
>>  Decreases were mainly observed in the construction (46 fewer) and manufacturing 
(19 fewer) sectors, particularly among businesses with fewer than 50 employees (70 fewer).

 The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL, Minister Lee Jung-sik) has announced the 2023 statistics on accident fatalities based on the approval of survivor benefits under industrial accident compensation statistics. The number of approved accident fatalities in 2023 was 812, a decrease of 62 from 2022 (874). The accident fatality rate per ten thousand employees also decreased by 0.04 permyriad points to 0.39 permyriad. This marks the first time since 2014 that the rate has fallen into the 0.3 permyriad range, having previously stagnated between 0.4 permyriad and 0.5 permyriad.

By industry, the highest number of fatalities occurred in the construction sector with 356 cases (43.8%), followed by manufacturing with 165 cases (20.3%); service industries with 140 cases (17.2%); and transportation, storage, and communications with 111 cases (13.7%). 

Notably, fatalities decreased in the construction (46 fewer), manufacturing (19 fewer), and service industries (10 fewer), while the transportation, storage, and communications sector saw an increase (7 more).
* The increase in the transportation, storage, and communications sector was primarily due to traffic accidents outside the workplace (77 cases, 10 more) and among labor providers such as truck owner-operators (20 cases, 13 more).

Regarding types of accidents, falls were the most common cause of fatalities with 286 cases (35.2%), followed by being caught in or between objects with 88 cases (10.8%), traffic accidents outside the workplace with 86 cases (10.6%), collisions with objects with 69 cases (8.5%), and being struck by objects with 68 cases (8.4%).

Although falls (36 fewer), collisions with objects (23 fewer), and being caught in or between objects (2 fewer), which have historically accounted for about half of all fatalities and are known as the “three major types of accidents,” have decreased, traffic accidents outside the workplace (9 more) have increased, making it one of the top three causes for the first time.
* Breakdown by size: 5 to 49 employees (359 cases, 44.2%), fewer than 5 employees (278 cases, 34.2%), 50 to 299 employees (130 cases, 16.0%), 300 or more employees (45 cases, 5.5%).

Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik stated: “The achievement of entering the 0.3 permyriad range, the lowest since the survey began, can be attributed to the widespread implementation of easy and simple risk assessments, proactive financial and technical support, and the efforts of the Safety Culture Promotion Task Force to internalize a culture of safety awareness. This, combined with heightened vigilance through measures such as the major accident siren, has brought about this significant improvement.”