On the 4th, A Myanmar national worker in his 30s was found in cardiac arrest at the construction site of the Gwangmyeong-Seoul expressway in Okgil-dong, Gwangmyeong, where POSCO E&C was in charge of construction and was transported to the hospital. He was presumed to have had an accident due to electrocution while working at a pump located 18 meters underground. It is reported that the police are investigating the possibility that A, who is not proficient in Korean, was deployed at the site without properly understanding work instructions or safety regulations.
Recently, as the government decided to strengthen penalties for industrial accidents, there are concerns that foreign workers are exposed to safety accident risks. The proportion of foreigners in the construction and manufacturing sectors is rapidly increasing, but due to their lack of Korean communication skills, essential safety training is not being effectively conducted.
According to a report titled 'Analysis of Foreign Workers' Work-Related Accident Status' published this year by the Korea Immigration Policy Institute, the number of foreign workers who died in accidents at domestic industrial sites has exceeded 100 annually for seven consecutive years from 2017 to 2023. The number of those injured or ill due to industrial accidents is also on the rise, increasing from 6,186 in 2017 to 8,677 in 2023.
By industry, as of 2023, 78.1% of work-related accidents involving foreign workers occurred in the construction and mining/manufacturing sectors. The construction sector accounted for 39.8% of all accidents, followed by mining/manufacturing at 38.3%. The researcher noted, "The proportion of foreign workers engaged in the construction industry is only 12%, so it should be considered that a significantly higher number of accidents have occurred compared to other sectors."
Accidents involving foreign workers also frequently occur in agricultural and fishing sectors. On the 9th, a Vietnamese worker was killed when crushed by a forklift at an orchard in Gokseong, South Jeolla Province, and on the 10th, Vietnamese and Thai workers lost their lives in an electrocution accident at a shrimp farm in Goheung, South Jeolla Province.
The majority of foreigners who suffer accidents in industrial sites are workers who entered the country on non-professional employment visas (E-9 visas). There are foreign students with study visas (D-2 visas) or general training visas (D-4) who can work in the country, but they must possess a certain level of Korean proficiency, and the jobs they are allowed to take are limited to low-risk simple part-time work such as restaurants or convenience stores. In contrast, workers coming on E-9 visas primarily find jobs in high-risk business sites, and the required Korean proficiency standards are relatively low.
In the case of foreign students with D-2 visas, they must secure a score of level 3 or higher on the Korean language proficiency test (TOPIK) to work more than 25 hours a week. On the other hand, E-9 visas can be issued once they pass the employment permit system Korean language proficiency test (EPS-TOPIK), which is graded on a relative basis, and only need to complete 38 hours of Korean language education before entry.
As concerns that foreign workers are in safety management blind spots have increased, domestic corporations have recently expanded investments in safety training and accident prevention for these workers. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries has created virtual reality (VR) safety experience facilities for foreigners and is utilizing training materials and content written in foreign languages at the integrated safety training center, the largest of its kind in the country, which has been operating since 2018.
However, small and medium-sized enterprises with poor capital and human resource structures are struggling to provide safety training for foreign workers. Small and medium-sized enterprises are highly dependent on foreign workers due to severe labor shortages. For this reason, voices are being raised in the industrial sector to increase budget support to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to strengthen safety training for foreign workers and to enhance management and supervision.
An industry official said, "In Singapore, where the proportion of foreigners among construction workers exceeds 60%, workers must pass a separate safety training test after entering the country and must complete regular safety training to maintain their residence qualifications," and emphasized, "We must closely examine the management practices of advanced countries and apply them in domestic industrial sites."
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