Workplace injury claims hit record 185,092 last year
Approval rate for workers 60 and older fell to 77.5% last year, 73.0% in first half of this year
14,522 occupational disease claims denied for older workers, prompting calls for reform
Nearly four in 10 workplace injury claims filed last year came from workers aged 60 and older — the highest share of any age group — yet their approval rate has fallen sharply, dropping from 84.8 percent in 2022 to 77.5 percent last year and sliding further to 73.0 percent in the first half of this year. The trend has prompted calls to overhaul the workers' compensation recognition system to better reflect the working conditions and health characteristics of older employees.
According to data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Hae-chul of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee by the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, total workplace injury claims — covering accidents, occupational diseases and commuting injuries — reached a record 185,092 last year.
Of those, 72,930 claims, or 39.4 percent of the total, were filed by workers aged 60 and older, making that age group the largest source of claims.
The approval rate for that group, however, has declined every year. It stood at 84.8 percent in 2022, fell to 82.6 percent in 2023, dropped to 80.2 percent in 2024 and reached 77.5 percent last year — a decline of 7.3 percentage points over three years. The rate fell further to 73.0 percent in the first half of this year.
The gap with younger workers was also stark. Workers aged 19 to 29 had an approval rate of 95.1 percent last year, 17.6 percentage points higher than those aged 60 and older.
Older workers fared particularly poorly on occupational disease claims. Their approval rate for such claims fell 4.0 percentage points, from 60.7 percent in 2022 to 56.7 percent last year. The number of denied occupational disease claims in that age group reached 14,522 last year.
Park's office said older workers find it harder to have the work-relatedness of a disease recognized than that of a workplace accident.
Overall claims have consistently risen. The total climbed from 150,862 in 2022 to 162,947 in 2023, 173,603 in 2024 and 185,092 last year — an increase of 34,230 claims, or 22.7 percent, compared with 2022.
Park said the declining approval rate for older workers reflects a compensation recognition system that does not adequately account for the working conditions and occupational disease patterns specific to that group.
"The workplace injury prevention and compensation system must change to reflect the reality that older workers are increasing in number," he said, calling for a review of the link between illnesses common among older workers and their jobs, and for improvements to the criteria and procedures used to recognize workplace injuries.
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