In the first quarter of this year, the number of fatalities from industrial accidents was reported at 137. More than half of the fatalities occurred in the construction industry. The total number of deaths decreased by one compared to a year ago, but in the construction sector, the number increased by seven.

According to the '2025 First Quarter Industrial Accident Investigation Status of Fatal Accidents' announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 21st, there were 137 fatalities (129 cases) from accidents in the last first quarter. Compared to the first quarter of last year, the number of fatalities decreased by one, and the number of accidents decreased by seven.

On February 16, police, the scientific investigation team, fire authorities, the National Forensic Service, and the National Disaster Safety Agency are conducting a joint investigation at the site of the fire at the Banyan Tree Hotel construction site in Gijang-gun, Busan. /Courtesy of News1

By industry, there were ▲71 fatalities (63 cases) in construction ▲29 fatalities (29 cases) in manufacturing ▲37 fatalities (37 cases) in other industries. By size of business sites, there were ▲83 fatalities (83 cases) in business sites with fewer than 50 employees (construction projects under 5 billion won) and ▲54 fatalities (46 cases) in those with more than 50 employees (construction projects over 5 billion won). By type, there were ▲62 fatalities from falls ▲11 from being caught ▲16 from being struck by objects ▲11 from collisions ▲13 from being buried or overturned.

While the number of fatalities in manufacturing and other industries decreased compared to the same period last year, there was an increase of seven in the construction industry. The significant incidents included a fire on a construction site in Busan's Gijang County that resulted in six deaths and a bridge collapse on the Sejong-Anseong Expressway that caused four deaths. A representative from the Ministry of Employment and Labor noted that while fatalities from 'falls' and 'being caught' decreased, incidents related to fire, explosion, and collapse increased.

The government plans to intensively conduct inspections and oversight of construction sites in the first half of the year to reduce serious accidents in the construction sector, and to strengthen safety investments and inspections through meetings with construction firms organized by regional labor offices.