○ Provincial ordinance on industrial accident prevention support for foreign migrant workers passed at plenary session
– Legal basis established for dedicated support center, multilingual safety education, and risk assessment assistance for small businesses
Gyeonggi Province is advancing measures to prevent industrial accidents among migrant workers, including expanded multilingual safety education, support for safety equipment in high-risk workplaces, and establishment of a dedicated support center.

The province announced on January 1 that the “Gyeonggi Province Ordinance on Support for the Prevention of Industrial Accidents Among Foreign Migrant Workers” was passed at the plenary session of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly on December 26, securing a legal foundation for the systematic promotion of industrial safety policies targeting migrant workers.

A total of around 160,000 foreign workers reside in Gyeonggi Province under the Employment Permit System, 64.6% of whom are participating in high-risk sectors such as manufacturing and construction. Due to language and cultural barriers, however, migrant workers face considerable difficulties in participating in safety training and accessing industrial accident prevention information. Despite the strengthening of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act, concerns about the lack of on-site, customized support systems for migrant workers persist.

The ordinance includes provisions for the following: establishing and implementing industrial safety and accident prevention plans for migrant workers; developing and distributing multilingual safety education materials; building systems to collect and analyze provincial industrial accident statistics and data; providing safety equipment support for high-risk and small-scale workplaces; and operating incentive programs for employers that promote industrial accident prevention.

In particular, the ordinance establishes the legal basis for the installation and operation of a dedicated Migrant Worker Industrial Safety Support Center. This will enable the systematic delivery of field-oriented safety education and workplace risk assessments.

“Despite being an essential workforce supporting local industries, migrant workers remain in a vulnerable position when it comes to industrial accident prevention policies,” said Heo Young-gil, Director of the Immigration and Social Policy Division of Gyeonggi Province. “With the enactment of this ordinance, we hope to see practical safety support that overcomes language and cultural barriers, and to eliminate blind spots in the prevention of industrial accidents among migrant workers.”