1719d The current status of occupational health services and its perspectives in korea

Abstract

The occupational health services have been developed and expanded continuously in Korea as government policy and the social demand on occupational health been changed. The OH system of Korea is based on a triangle system which consists of government (MoEL), Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) and the private institutions. The occupational health services are conducted by experts in various fields such as occupational physicians, nurses, hygienists, ergonomists etc. The occupational health services in Korea were concentrated in the manufacturing field of machinery, automobile and shipbuilding so far, and it is expanding into the services and the construction fields. The occupational health service system of Korea is customised based on the scale of enterprises. The large scale enterprises over 300 employees manage occupational health themselves, the medium scale ones between 50 and 299 employees manage themselves or entrust to the specialised institutions of health management. The public occupational health services, such as workers’ health centres, provide technical support to the small scale enterprises under 50 employees. The occupational health activities in terms of policy, implementation, training and education etc. following the Seoul Statement are conducted progressively. Especially since the new government was launched, the occupational safety and health is emphasised to cover all workers.