In Korea, workers should work for 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week, but they can work longer by 12 hours a week under the agreement with their employers. Before 2018, overtime work was allowed by 28 hours a week. Since there are no limits on overtime work on a day, theoretically workers can work for 20 hours per day. It is even possible for those workers in the transport industry, health industry, primary industry and businesses that have less than 5 workers can  because there are no regulations on working time.

In Korea ‘Karoshi’ has not been defined yet. Instead, most work related cerebral or cardiovascular diseases are perceived as the Karoshi. Workers, who work over 60 hours a week or over 52 hours with shift work, heavy workload, or work without sufficient breaks are the risk factors for being diagnosed with work-related illness.

• The number of approved industrial injury cases that compensated for workers as cerebro cardiovascular disease is 457 in 2018. 

Korea’s suicide rate is very high. Suicide is the first leading cause of death for one’s 20s to 30s. For 40s and 50s, it is the second leading cause of death. In 2018, 13,670 people, 26 percent of 100,000 died from suicide. 35 percent of those who died from suicide are workers a lot of whom choose to commit suicide after suffering from resignation, dismissal, personal relationship issues at work, occupation changes or workload changes.

However, the number of approved cases as industrial injury for suicide or mental illness is very low in Korea.

•  The number of approved industrial injury cases that compensated for workers as work-related suicide is 86 in 2018.