Over the past two years, suspected workers’ compensation claims for deaths linked to overwork have approached 2,000, yet not a single employer in cases recognized as work-related has been referred to prosecutors. Experts say this exposes a regulatory gap: unlike accident-related injuries, deaths from overwork are not directly governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Act, creating an accountability void.
Data the Ministry of Employment and Labor provided to the office of Lee Hak-young, deputy speaker of the National Assembly for the Democratic Party, show 1,992 suspected overwork-death workers’ compensation claims were filed from 2023 through February 2026. Of those, 663—roughly 33.3%—were acknowledged as work-related.
The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service’s Occupational Disease Determination Committee approves a claim when it finds a link between excessive workloads or long working hours and a worker’s death. Yet in none of the 663 recognized cases was an employer referred to prosecutors.
The ministry says it closes overwork-related death cases—including those involving cardiovascular disease—because the Occupational Safety and Health Act contains no direct regulatory provision for them. By contrast, accident-related incidents such as falls and crush injuries are immediately investigated and prosecuted under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accident Punishment Act.
Lee Hak-young called the absence of provisions to govern recognized overwork-related compensation cases a clear policy gap and urged lawmakers to promptly implement effective reforms to prevent deaths from overwork.
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