Preventing Falls on Korean Construction Sites: 2025 Data and the First Ruling
Workplace Safety Field Guide special edition: construction falls
Korea's provisional 2025 count of investigated workplace accident deaths was 605, and construction accounted for 286 of them, the largest share of any industry. Falls rose from the prior year in the Ministry of Employment and Labor's provisional statistics, and the accident behind the first Serious Accidents Act conviction was a construction fall as well.
This guide was written against the MOEL provisional 2025 fatality statistics published as of July 13, 2026, and the laws in force on that date.
Illustrative fall-prevention setup unrelated to the accident discussed in this article.
605 deaths, 286 of them in construction
In the ministry's provisional figures, investigated accident deaths reached 605 (573 incidents), up 16 (2.7%) from 589 the year before. Construction led by industry, while manufacturing fell (MOEL press release).
| Segment | Deaths | Incidents |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 605 | 573 |
| Construction | 286 | 267 |
| Manufacturing | 158 | 150 |
| Other industries | 161 | 156 |
By type, falls, collisions, and collapses increased while caught-in and struck-by deaths decreased. The per-type counts are in the statistical annex attached to the release.
What the first conviction says about falls
The site was a nursing-hospital extension. A subcontracted worker fell to his death while moving a 94.2 kg rebar bundle at a fifth-floor opening, and the court handed the general contractor's representative a suspended prison sentence (Legal Times). The legal analysis is in the field-guide special edition Korea's First Serious Accidents Act Conviction: Reading the Article 4 Duties.
Three conditions stacked in that accident: an opening at height, a load too heavy for one person, and subcontracted work. A check that stops at guardrails and harnesses sees none of them. How the work is arranged and staffed belongs on the inspection sheet too.
What to check every day
- Openings and edges have covers or guardrails in place, and none were removed for convenience.
- Work platforms and walkways are fixed, and no stored material forces a detour.
- Harness anchor points exist where the work actually happens; an anchor far from the work goes unused.
- Heavy loads have staffing rules and set routes, so no one ends up carrying alone.
- Subcontracted zones are inspected by the same standard, with records kept jointly.
A finding is closed only when the next inspection confirms the fix. The release and its statistical annex are available from MOEL.
Guide 3 of 4, Korea's Serious Accidents Act: 9 Checks for Sub-50 Workplaces, covers the management-system picture.