Construction workers eat ice cream to cool off from the sweltering heat during a break at an apartment construction site in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, on July 20, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Around half of occupational heat-related illness cases in South Korea have occurred in the construction industry, with outdoor workplaces contributing significantly to these instances, data showed Sunday.
A total of 117 cases were approved as occupational heat-related illnesses from January 2018 to June of this year, and among them, 19 resulted in fatalities, according to data submitted by the Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service to the National Assembly.
Breaking down the data by industry type, the construction sector accounted for 52 percent of the total cases, specifically 61 cases.
When considering company size, small workplaces with fewer than 50 workers made up 60 percent of the cases, totaling 70 incidents.
Among the 81 cases where the victims’ workplace was clearly identified, outdoor workplaces accounted for a substantial 93 percent, reaching 75 cases, whereas indoor workplaces only accounted for six cases.
Regarding fatalities, the construction industry had the highest share with 15 cases.
Moreover, when analyzed by company size, small workplaces with less than 50 employees accounted for 80 percent of these fatalities, adding up to 15 cases.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
