Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon Pledges Stronger Laws to Involve Labor, Management in Preventing Industrial Accidents

Kim Young-hoon, minister of employment and labor, poses for a photo. [Photo=Ministry of Employment and Labor] — Kim Young-hoon, minister of employment and labor. [Photo=Ministry of Employment and Labor]

Kim Young-hoon, South Korea’s minister of employment and labor, said on the 28th that cutting industrial accidents begins with “basic respect for human life,” and pledged to focus on strengthening laws and systems so labor and management can take an active role in preventing workplace injuries and deaths.

Kim made the remarks in a commemorative address after paying respects at the Industrial Accident Victims Memorial Tower in Boramae Park in Seoul’s Dongjak District. A ceremony was later held at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District.

Industrial Accident Workers’ Day was designated a statutory commemorative day in October 2024 to raise public understanding of industrial accidents and improve the rights of affected workers.

Attendees included Kim; Kim Jeong-ho, chair of the National Assembly’s Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee; other lawmakers; representatives of labor and management groups; and officials from government-affiliated agencies. Groups representing industrial accident victims and bereaved families, as well as award recipients, also took part.

At the ceremony, the Dongtap Order of Industrial Service Merit was presented to Seok Chang-woo, head of the Korea Disabled Artists Association, who lost both arms in a high-voltage electrocution accident and later became an artist, staging performances at more than 200 events at home and abroad to help reduce social prejudice against injured workers. An Industrial Service Medal was awarded to Min Dong-sik, head of the Incheon Industrial Accident Association, who lost his left leg in a workplace explosion and has operated a rehabilitation support counseling center while running accident-prevention campaigns.

Kim said that with nationwide efforts on industrial safety, combined with labor-management cooperation, fatal industrial accidents fell in the first quarter of this year. “If dedicated efforts have produced change in reducing serious accidents, we must now solidify that momentum,” he said.

He added that the government will work to build a workplace culture that respects the life and safety of all people and help workers who have suffered industrial accidents return fully to their daily lives.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kim SeongSeo