After the IMF restructuring in South Korea in the late 1990s, work intensity increased along with work-related diseases. There was a demand by the labor movement for the government to list musculoskeletal disorders as occupational diseases and for employers to improve working conditions. Colleagues who participated in this struggle founded KILSH on October 24, 2003 with a goal of providing field-based expertise to address workers' health and safety issues. Since then, KILSH has worked on a variety of labor issues with labor movement activists, trade union members, occupational physicians and lawyers. KILSH performs field research, advocates for safe and healthy working conditions and empowers workers to push for positive change. KILSH has three offices located in the cities of Seoul, Suwon and Busan.