253 Workers Died in Industrial Accidents in the First Half: Record Low Overall, but Manufacturing Fatalities Up 37%

Ministry of Employment and Labor Announces First-Half Status of Fatalities from Accident Investigations

This year, 253 workers died from industrial accidents in the first half of the year, marking an 11.8% decrease compared to a year earlier and setting the lowest figure recorded since statistics began. However, the number of industrial accident fatalities in the manufacturing sector actually increased, due to major incidents such as the Daejeon Safe Industrial fire and the Hanwha Aerospace explosion.

On July 15, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the 'Status of Fatalities from Accident Investigations in the First Half of 2026.' In the first half of this year, 253 people (across 232 cases) died in accidents subject to investigation, a decrease of 34 people (11.8%) from 287 people (across 278 cases) a year earlier. The cumulative number of accident deaths in the first half was also the lowest since statistics started being compiled in 2022. The figures for the first half are as follows: 2022 saw 320 fatalities; 2023, 289; 2024, 296; 2025, 287; and this year, 253. The reduction of 34 fatalities is the largest drop seen in the first half of any year.

Kim Younghun, Minister of Employment and Labor, visited the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon Plant in Oesam-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, where an explosion accident occurred on the 1st, to check the accident site situation. Ministry of Employment and Labor

By business size, accident fatalities hit an all-time low across the board. In workplaces with fewer than 50 employees (or construction sites with a contract value below KRW 5 billion), there were 146 industrial accident deaths, a decrease of 30 (17.0%) from the previous year (176). Particularly, in very small workplaces with fewer than five employees (or construction sites with a contract value below KRW 500 million), the number of fatal industrial accidents fell from 88 last year to 67 this year in the first half, a decrease of 21 people (23.9%).

Lee Minjae, Director General for Industrial Safety and Health Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, stated, "The significant decline in fatalities at very small workplaces with fewer than five employees is noteworthy." He explained that "the President's message on reducing industrial accidents, combined with government preventive oversight and cooperation with local governments, has contributed to reducing fatalities at vulnerable small businesses." In workplaces with 50 or more employees (or construction sites with contract values of KRW 5 billion or more), there were 107 deaths, a decrease of 4 people (3.6%) from 111 in the same period of the previous year.

By industry, there were 105 industrial accident deaths in construction, a decrease of 33 (23.9%) year-on-year. Although the number of construction sites increased from 900,000 in the first half of last year to 1.03 million in the first half of this year, accident fatalities actually decreased. The Ministry of Employment and Labor attributed this decrease not to the downturn in the construction market, but to increased government prevention and oversight, as well as heightened safety efforts on job sites.

However, industrial accident deaths in manufacturing rose from 67 last year to 92 this year in the first half, an increase of 25 people (37.3%). This was due to the frequency of major fire incidents, such as the fire at Safe Industrial in Daejeon in March that killed 14 employees, and the explosion at the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon Plant in June, which resulted in five deaths.

By accident type, all three major conventional accident categories (falls, collisions, being caught in equipment) recorded declines in fatalities. Deaths from falls dropped the most—by 45 people (34.9%) to 84. Fatalities from being caught in equipment in the first half of this year totaled 22, 5 fewer (18.5%) than the previous year; deaths from collisions dropped by 1 for a total of 27 (down 3.6%). However, fatalities from these three major conventional accident types still accounted for 52.6% of all industrial fatalities, i.e., more than half. Deaths from being struck by an object also fell significantly, from 39 in the first half of last year to 25 this year, a decrease of 14 people (35.9%).

In contrast, deaths from being buried or overturned, as well as from fires and explosions, both increased by 16, to 34 and 32 fatalities, respectively, compared to the same period the previous year. Oh Youngmin, Director General of Occupational Safety and Health Supervision at the Ministry, explained, "Fatalities from being buried or overturned seem to have been affected by incidents such as forklift overturns," adding that, "deaths from fires and explosions were heavily influenced by the major accidents at Safe Industrial Daejeon and the Hanwha Aerospace Daejeon Plant."

The government plans to intensify oversight in the second half of the year to reduce industrial accident deaths, with a focus on preventing falls, fires and explosions in the manufacturing sector, and confined space suffocation accidents. Specifically, advanced technical and financial support will be provided before tasks with a high risk of falls, and administrative and judicial action will be expanded in response to violations of safety rules preventing falls during work. Certain high-risk works in construction, such as roofing and suspended scaffolding, will be closely managed via regional associations and recruitment sites.

In addition, the government will simultaneously conduct field inspections and heat-related illness prevention activities to proactively address seasonal risk factors during summer heat waves. To reduce fatalities in manufacturing, inspections will be conducted at workplaces with repeated fire incidents and those handling military explosives. Moreover, focused inspections of three key safety rules to prevent confined space suffocation will be conducted at 200 sites. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced plans to subject companies with repeated incidents of the same type to supervisory actions equivalent to a special audit, including at their headquarters.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.