Occupational disease issues in high-tech industries of South Korea: analysis of governmental data on the semiconductor and display industries.

IF 1.2 Q4 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Chungsik Yoon, Jinjoo Chung, Jongran Lee, Kwonchul Ha, Joseph DiGangi, Jeong-Ok Kong
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: This study analyzed occupational diseases compensated through the government system in the Korean electronics industry and observed changes in the rationale for compensation.

Methods: Data from the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service (KWCWS) from 2012 to 2023 were analyzed to examine occupational disease issues in South Korea's semiconductor and display industries.

Results: KWCWS received 174 occupational disease claims between 2012 and 2023, with 88 (50.6%) approved. The case of a 22-year-old semiconductor worker who died from leukemia has raised awareness and appears to be leading to more claims and higher approval rates. Cancer-related claims, particularly for breast and blood cancers, were the most common. Since 2018, the approval rate for occupational diseases has increased to 60%, which may have been influenced by the Supreme Court's Principle of Presumption of Occupational Diseases and the government's reduction of the burden of proof. However, approval rates remain lower in small- and medium-sized enterprises (38.0%) compared to large corporations (55.6%), likely because of better documentation and unionization in the latter. The semiconductor industry had more claims and approvals than the LCD industry, primarily due to its longer operational history and greater chemical exposure.

Conclusions: In South Korea, the increasing approval rate of occupational diseases in the electronics industry from 2012 to 2023 appears to reflect changes in how causal relationships and occupational health policies have been implemented and this is likely due to stakeholder involvement and relevant legal decisions.

韩国高科技产业的职业病问题:对半导体和显示产业政府数据的分析。
背景:本研究分析韩国电子产业透过政府制度补偿职业病,并观察补偿理由的变化。方法:分析2012 - 2023年韩国工人补偿福利服务(KWCWS)的数据,对韩国半导体和显示行业的职业病问题进行调查。结果:2012 - 2023年,医院共受理职业病索赔174件,获批88件(50.6%)。一名22岁的半导体工人死于白血病的案例提高了人们的意识,似乎导致了更多的索赔和更高的批准率。癌症相关的索赔,尤其是乳腺癌和血癌,是最常见的。2018年以来,职业病的批准率上升到60%,这可能是受到最高法院职业病推定原则和政府减少举证责任的影响。但是,中小企业的赞成率(38.0%)比大企业(55.6%)要低,这可能是因为大企业的文件编制和工会化更完善。半导体行业比LCD行业有更多的索赔和批准,主要是由于其更长的运营历史和更多的化学品暴露。结论:在韩国,从2012年到2023年,电子行业职业病的批准率不断上升,这似乎反映了因果关系和职业健康政策的实施方式发生了变化,这可能是由于利益相关者的参与和相关的法律决定。
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来源期刊
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-
CiteScore
1.90
自引率
0.00%
发文量
25
审稿时长
16 weeks
期刊介绍: Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (AOEM) is an open access journal that considers original contributions relevant to occupational and environmental medicine and related fields, in the form of original articles, review articles, short letters and case reports. AOEM is aimed at clinicians and researchers working in the wide-ranging discipline of occupational and environmental medicine. Topic areas focus on, but are not limited to, interactions between work and health, covering occupational and environmental epidemiology, toxicology, hygiene, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, management, organization and policy. As the official journal of the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (KSOEM), members and authors based in the Republic of Korea are entitled to a discounted article-processing charge when they publish in AOEM.
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