Heat-Related Workplace Injuries in Korea More Than Triple in Five Years
Official labor data released by a lawmaker show 243 workers received industrial accident recognition for heat-related illness from 2021 through 2025, including 24 fatal cases. Construction accounted for nearly half of all recognized cases.
The number of workers in South Korea recognized as suffering occupational injuries from heat-related illness more than tripled over five years, underscoring the growing danger posed by extreme temperatures at workplaces across the country.
Data from the Ministry of Employment and Labor showed that 83 workers received industrial accident recognition for heat-related illness in 2025, compared with 25 in 2021. That represents a 3.3-fold increase over the period.
The figures were released Saturday by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Kim So-hee, a member of the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee. They cover cases officially approved under the industrial accident compensation system.
Annual totals rose throughout the period. There were 29 recognized cases in 2022, 33 in 2023 and 73 in 2024 before the count reached 83 last year. In all, 243 workers were recognized as having suffered heat-related industrial accidents between 2021 and 2025.
Twenty-four of the cases were fatal. The highest annual death toll was recorded in 2022, when seven workers died. Six deaths were recorded in 2024 and five in 2025. The released figures did not specify the annual fatality totals for the other two years.
Construction workers were the most heavily affected occupational group, accounting for 113 cases, or nearly half of the five-year total. Manufacturing followed with 34 cases. Facility management and business support services recorded 24 cases, while work conducted by national and local government bodies accounted for 22. Agriculture recorded six cases during the same period.
The regional distribution also showed a concentration in major population and industrial centers. Gyeonggi Province had the largest number with 59 cases, followed by Seoul with 31, South Gyeongsang Province with 30 and South Chungcheong Province with 26.
The sustained rise points to a widening occupational health challenge as hotter conditions expose outdoor laborers and people working in heat-intensive environments to greater risk. The predominance of construction cases highlights the particular vulnerability of workers whose duties are often performed outside and may involve prolonged physical exertion.
The figures count approved industrial accident cases rather than every heat-related illness experienced at work. Even so, the increase in recognized cases and the 24 deaths over five years show that workplace heat exposure has become a serious labor and public-health concern requiring close attention from employers, regulators and local authorities.