Migrant workers receive tests at an outdoor COVID-19 testing station in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, on March 11, 2021, as local authorities ordered all such workers to undergo tests. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — While foreigners account for less than 4 percent of all laborers in South Korea, 1 in 10 people who died in major industrial disasters last year were foreigners, a lawmaker said, citing data from the the Ministry of Employment and Labor.
75 people among 668 killed in major industrial disasters in 2021 were migrant workers, accounting for 11.2 percent of the total, according to data released by Rep. Kang Eun-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party.
Considering that foreigners (811,000 people) accounted for 3.8 percent of all wage workers in the country (20.9 million people), the death rate among migrant workers was three times higher than for South Korean citizens.
“Foreigners fill up the so-called three-d (dangerous, difficult and dirty) jobs shunned by Koreans, exposing them to a higher risk,” Kang said.
“The reality will only be worse, considering that there are undocumented workers unable to receive proper treatment even when they’re injured and those without employment insurance.”
As of 2020, only 54.3 percent of foreign workers had employment insurance, and 68.1 percent had occupational health and safety insurance.
The subscription rates for employment insurance and occupational health and safety insurance among all wage workers in the country were 90.3 percent and 97.7 percent, respectively.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
