The Present and the Future of Occupational Health in Korea

Abstract

The Present and the Future of Occupational Health in Korea: Jungsun Park, et al. Industrial Health Research Institute, Korea Industrial Safety Corporation, S. Korea—Generally the industrial development of Korea has accompanied increasing tendency of industrial injury and occupational disease. As the economy began to develop in the 1970s and the development of the heavy metal and petrochemical industries accompanied this economic growth, industrial injuries and occupational diseases have emerged as serious social problems. In the 1980s, the rapid introduction of new industries and technological innovations have further aggravated the work environments. The Industrial Safety and Health Law mandates employers to provide periodic medical examination, work environment measurement, and health management with the employment of a health supervisor to regulate industrial accidents and occupational diseases. These programs are important tools of protecting workers' health and, having been developed along with Korea's industrial health care system, has a historical meaning of its own. However, these programs can also be negatively criticized because of ritualistic and unproductive execution. Recently, the Government introduced new approaches to supplement the shortage of the mandatory occupational health services by law. The new approaches are reforming of occupational medical examination program, conducting the government funded subsidiary occupational health program for small‐sized enterprises, and the expansion of the workers' right to know and right to participate etc. While there have been a shift from uniformity and compulsory execution to autonomy, locality, and expansion of the workers' right to participate, the issue of necessary conditions for these new approaches to become effective in a developing nation such as Korea will grow in importance.