Work-related injuries and fatalities among farmers in South Korea

Agricultural injuries are increasing in South Korea according to its workforce's reduced size and increased age. Available data are insufficient to exactly understand present situation. This study evaluated the patterns and characteristics of agricultural injury and assessed the injury rates.

We analyzed the entry and compensation data compiled in 2005 by the Safety Aid System of Farm Workers, South Korea's government insurance for agricultural injury. We examined the general characteristics, rates, and mortality of agricultural injury.

There were 11,931 compensated events, including 219 compensated deaths. Farm injuries occurred most frequently in October, and most injuries were unintentional. The incidence and fatality rates were 16.67 per 1,000 person-years and 30.59 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. Most number of agricultural injuries occurred in October. The most common cause of deaths was accidents caused by machinery use (35.64%) for males and other transport accidents (23.53%) for females, while the most common cause of injuries for females was falls (45.39%). Incidence and mortality rate of agricultural injuries were higher in elders.

Although injury rates may have been underestimated owing to data limitations, we are confident that South Korea's rate is higher than those seen in other countries or occupations.