The number of accidents from public orders and private projects last year was found to be nearly the same.
According to the 'Land Safety Statistical Yearbook' published on the 24th by the Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety (KALIS), out of 6,180 construction accidents reported by contracting agencies or licensing bodies last year, there were 3,082 accidents (49.9%) in public projects, which was 16 fewer than those in private projects (3,098 accidents, 50.1%).
The total number of casualties was 3,121 in the public sector and 3,124 in the private sector, indicating virtually no difference. While there were more fatalities in private projects (121) than in public projects (74), the number of injuries was higher in the public sector (3,047) compared to the private sector (3,003).
Last year, the total number of construction projects was 87,616 in the public sector and 75,283 in the private sector, with the accident rates being 3.5% in public and 4.1% in private, indicating a slightly higher accident rate in private projects.
In terms of scale, the largest number of accidents occurred at large sites with budgets exceeding 100 billion won (2,087 accidents), resulting in 41 fatalities and 2,067 injuries.
The number of construction projects exceeding 100 billion won that resulted in casualties was higher in the private sector (1,527) than in the public sector (637). The project size that recorded the most fatalities was in the range of 1 billion to 5 billion won, with 53 deaths and 687 injuries.
The most significant cause of accidents was temporary facilities (1,644 cases), accounting for 26.6%. Last year, it was reported that 49 people died and 1,612 were injured due to accidents related to temporary facilities. Construction machinery (351 cases) had a smaller share of the total, but the resulting fatalities were 44, making it the second highest after temporary facilities.
Regarding the causes of accidents, 'non-compliance with safety regulations' was the most frequent, occurring in 5,000 cases (80.9%), which resulted in 129 deaths and 4,906 injuries.
The highest number of accidents by construction type was in reinforced concrete construction (1,786 cases), resulting in 28 fatalities and 1,773 injuries.