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| Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labor on January 29 publicly disclosed the names of 376 workplaces found to have violated their obligations to prevent industrial accidents during the previous year.
The disclosure covers workplaces that fall into the following categories: sites where two or more workers were killed in industrial accidents; workplaces whose fatality rate per 10,000 workers exceeded the average for companies of similar size and industry; sites where major industrial accidents occurred; workplaces found to have concealed industrial accidents; and businesses that failed to report accidents two or more times over the past three years.
Even if an accident occurred prior to 2024, a workplace was included in the 2025 disclosure list if a court conviction was finalized in 2024.
The number of workplaces publicly named for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act has continued to decline in recent years, falling from 723 in 2022 to 494 in 2023, 468 in 2024, and 376 in 2025.
Hyundai Engineering & Construction and GS E&C were listed again this year after being named in both 2022 and 2023. While the specific accident sites differed, authorities noted that the employer was the same. Hyosung Heavy Industries was also re-listed after appearing on the disclosure list in 2023. A total of six workplaces were re-disclosed this year.
Eleven workplaces recorded two or more fatal industrial accidents in a single year. The highest number of deaths—three fatalities in 2022—occurred at a logistics warehouse construction site jointly operated by SGC E&C as the main contractor and Samma Construction as a subcontractor.
A total of 329 workplaces were found to have fatality rates per 10,000 workers exceeding the industry average for companies of comparable size. By sector, construction accounted for 188 workplaces (57.1%), followed by manufacturing with 81 (24.6%), and other industries with 34 (10.3%).
By company size, businesses with fewer than 50 employees made up the overwhelming majority at 297 workplaces (90.3%). Firms with 100 to 299 employees accounted for 17 workplaces (5.2%), while those with 50 to 99 employees numbered nine (2.7%).
Seven workplaces were listed due to major industrial accidents involving incidents such as hazardous material leaks, fires, or explosions. These included Waste Energy Solution’s Gokseong plant, where four workers were injured in 2024, and Cosmotec’s second plant, which recorded three injuries.
Two workplaces, Post Plate and Changyoung Industrial, were cited for concealing industrial accidents. In addition, nine workplaces—including Youngbin Construction’s Daegu branch, which failed to report 10 incidents—were fined for repeatedly failing to report industrial accidents at least twice over the past three years.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
