A total of 605 people died from industrial accidents last year, the data showed. That was up 2.7% from 2024.

According to the "2025 fatal accident occurrence status for those surveyed" that the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) released on the 31st, the number of deaths from industrial accidents last year was 605, an increase of 16 (2.7%) from a year earlier (589).

Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) makes a surprise inspection at a shipbuilding business site in Daebul Industrial Complex, Yeongam-gun, South Jeolla Province, on the 9th to check compliance with safety rules. /Courtesy of News1

By industry, deaths in construction rose to 286, up 10 (3.6%) from the previous year. Other industries saw 161 deaths, up 23 (16.7%) over the same period. However, manufacturing decreased by 17 (9.7%) to 158.

In other industries, which saw the largest increase in deaths, fatalities grew mainly in retail/wholesale and forestry/fishery, where business sites are small in scale. Retail/wholesale recorded 25 deaths, up 9, and forestry/fishery recorded 18, up 11.

By size, deaths at establishments with 50 or more workers were 254, up 4 (1.6%) from last year. Establishments with fewer than 50 workers were 351, up 12 (3.5%).

By type of accident, deaths from falls and collapses increased, while those from entanglement or being struck by objects decreased.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) said, "To turn the number of accidental deaths into a downward trend, we are concentrating administrative capacity on sectors vulnerable to industrial accidents, such as small business sites," adding, "This year we will certainly reduce fatal accidents so the public can feel the change."

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