Slips and falls top workplace injuries among cleaners, security guards as aging workforce raises risks

Workplace injuries among cleaners and security guards exceeded 4,300 last year, the highest figure in five years, according to newly released government data.

Data obtained by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang of the National Assembly's Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service showed that 4,389 workers in the "comprehensive building management" sector suffered workplace injuries last year, with 77 fatalities.

The sector covers workplaces that handle facility maintenance, cleaning, security and sanitation services at apartments, office buildings and public institutions, and employs large numbers of cleaners and security guards.

The injury count has risen for five consecutive years, climbing from 3,717 in 2021 to 3,899 in 2022, 4,092 in 2023, 4,293 in 2024 and 4,389 last year. This year, 2,281 injuries had already been recorded through the second quarter.

By type, slips and falls on workplace floors during cleaning or other tasks were the most common, accounting for 1,892 cases, or 43.1 percent of all injuries last year.

Falls from heights came second at 576 cases (13.1 percent), followed by musculoskeletal disorders from overexertion at 319 cases (7.3 percent) and collisions at 294 cases (6.7 percent).

Overexertion injuries — caused by physically demanding tasks — jumped 61.9 percent over five years, from 197 cases in 2021 to 319 last year.

Experts attribute the trend to the sector's predominantly older workforce.

Older workers with diminished muscle strength and joint function are developing musculoskeletal disorders after carrying heavy loads and performing repetitive cleaning and facility maintenance tasks without adequate rest, analysts said.

Falls from heights were the leading cause of fatal injuries. Of the 77 deaths recorded last year, eight resulted from such falls, and between eight and 16 fatal fall accidents occurred each year from 2021 through last year.

Geographically, injuries were concentrated in the Greater Seoul area, where apartments and large commercial buildings are densely clustered.

Gyeonggi Province recorded 1,101 injured workers last year and Seoul 888, together accounting for 45.3 percent of all cases nationwide.

"The unrelenting annual rise in workplace injuries among cleaners and security guards must be understood as a structural problem driven by the triple burden of long shift work, emotional labor and an aging workforce," Kim said. "The government must fundamentally improve their poor working conditions and swiftly put in place effective injury-prevention measures."