The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency will conduct on-site inspections on the 14th to coincide with the Day of Site Inspection, targeting the construction industry, where large accidents have occurred consecutively this year. They will focus on supervising and inspecting high-risk construction sites prone to accidents, such as frame and pipeline construction sites, as well as the use of excavators and large crane sites, and tunnel construction sites in each regional employment and labor office.
The number of fatalities due to industrial accidents occurs most frequently on construction sites. Last year, a total of 589 deaths were recorded among accident survey targets, with the construction industry accounting for 276 of those (46.9%), the largest share.
To prevent falls, which are the most common accidents on construction sites, they will check whether basic rules such as the installation of safety rails and covers for openings, as well as the wearing of safety harnesses, are being followed. During tunnel inspections, they will check if measures to prevent potential structural collapses have been implemented. They will also verify whether the duration of construction, the amount of contracts, or the project costs properly account for safety and health management expenses to ensure that on-site safety management is not neglected.
Choi Tae-ho, director of industrial accident prevention policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, noted, "The government is focusing supervision in the first half of the year to curb the rising trend of serious accidents at construction sites," adding, "Construction companies should also strengthen their self-prevention activities to improve risk factors and prioritize the lives and safety of workers when conducting construction."