S. Korea’s industrial accident deaths rise in H1

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s industrial accident deaths rose in the first half of this year due to a double-digit increase for the manufacturing sector, government data showed Thursday.
The number of deaths, caused by industrial accidents, was 296 in the January-June period, up 2.4 percent compared to the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
Among the industrial accidents, a fire ravaged a plant of the local lithium battery maker Aricell in Hwaseong, about 45 km south of the capital Seoul, in June and killed 23 workers, leading to the fast growth of deaths in the manufacturing sector.
The industrial accident deaths dropped for the second straight year in 2023 after the Serious Accidents Punishment Act took effect in January 2022 to impose tough punishment on employers who fail to prevent grave accidents at workplaces.
The number of industrial accident deaths in the manufacturing industry went up 17.3 percent to 95 in the first half, while the reading in the construction industry retreated 11.6 percent to 130.
The number of deaths at workplaces with fewer than 50 full-time workers decreased 13.4 percent to 155 in the first half, while the figure for workplaces with more than 50 full-time employees soared 28.2 percent to 141. ■