○ Gyeonggi Province’s efforts have greatly reduced the industrial accident rate at forest business sites in the province.
– Industrial accident rate fell by 2.1 percentage points from 3% in 2020 to 0.9% in 2021
– Number of occupational injuries decreased to one third of previous levels, falling from 18 persons in 2020 to 6 in 2021

○ Gyeonggi Province plans to promote on-site inspections and strengthen accident prevention education based on the K-Forest Project Safety Measures.

○ This year, the province will operate a joint inspection team for safety management and endeavor to prevent industrial accidents at forest sites.

Amid increased social interest in industrial disaster prevention with the Severe Disaster Punishment Act taking effect in January this year, the industrial accident rate at Gyeonggi Province’s forest sites saw a year-on-year decrease through the active efforts of the province.

According to a 2021 survey of 1,268 forest projects in the province, the year-on-year industrial accident rate fell by 2.1 percentage points from 3% to 0.9%, while the number of occupational injuries decreased to one third of previous levels, falling from 18 persons in 2020 to 6 in 2021, said a provincial official.
This, according to the province, is the outcome of various initiatives to cooperate with cities, counties, and workplaces, such as conducting on-site inspections of forest site safety management and strengthening safety education.

In fact, the province has devised its own on-site inspection plan based on the Korea Forest Service’s K-Forest Project Safety Measures, and has carefully examined the status of forest projects and actual workplace safety conditions last year.

In addition, enhanced safety education on accident prevention contributed to the reduced industrial accident rate. A total of 123 education sessions were offered to forest business sites in 14 cities and counties, including Hanam City and Gapyeong County, while professional institutions conducted joint safety education sessions on 25 occasions.

As a result of these achievements, the province plans to focus on preventing accidents at forest business sites in the province this year.

The province will organize a joint safety inspection team targeting the first and second halves of the year to check the operation of safety education programs and compliance with safety regulations. The inspections will target sites vulnerable to forest industry disasters.

Forestry Division Director Lee Sung-kyu said, “Among all industrial accidents, forestry accounts for the third highest risk of accidents relative to its industry size after mining and fishing. He added, “As long as continuous management and supervision are needed, we will spare no effort in providing support at a provincial level to prevent accidents.”