Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

Jinwoo Lee

2 Articles

Statement by the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine on the proposed reform of working hours in South Korea: Hee-Tae Kang, Chul-Ju Kim, Dong-Wook Lee, Seung-Gwon Park, Jinwoo Lee, Kanwoo Youn, Hwan-Cheol Kim, Kyoung Sook Jeong, Hansoo Song, Sung-Kyung Kim, Sang-Baek Koh; Ann Occup Environ Med 2023;35:e17. Published online July 5, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.35371/aoem.2023.35.e17

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The current 52-hour workweek in South Korea consists of 40 hours of regular work and 12 hours of overtime. Although the average working hours in South Korea is declining, it is still 199 hours longer than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 1,716 hours per year. In view to this, the South Korean government has now proposed to reform the workweek, mainly intending to increase the workweek to 69 hours when the workload is heavy. This reform, by increasing the labor intensity due to long working hours, goes against the global trend of reducing work hours for a safe and healthy working environment. Long working hours can lead to increased cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases, industrial accidents, mental health problems, and safety accidents due to lack of concentration. In conclusion, the Korean government’s working hour reform plan can have a negative impact on workers’ health, and therefore it should be thoroughly reviewed and modified.

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Association between long working hours and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease: a nationwide population-based study in Korea
S.-U. Baek, J.-U. Won, Y.-M. Lee, J.-H. Yoon
Public Health.2024; 232: 188. CrossRef
Association between long working hours and engagement in preventive healthcare services in Korean workers: Findings from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2024; 180: 107849. CrossRef
Long working hours, work-life imbalance, and poor mental health: a cross-sectional mediation analysis based on the sixth Korean Working Conditions Survey, 2020–2021
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jong-Uk Won
Journal of Epidemiology.2024;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between long working hours and the onset of problematic alcohol use in young workers: A population-based longitudinal analysis in South Korea
Seong-Uk Baek, Jong-Uk Won, Jin-Ha Yoon
Journal of Affective Disorders.2024; 344: 141. CrossRef
Changes in Korea’s working time policy: the need for research on flexible working hours considering socioeconomic inequality
Inah KIM
Industrial Health.2024; 62(2): 77. CrossRef
Effect of long working hours on psychological distress among young workers in different types of occupation
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2024; 179: 107829. CrossRef
Association between long working hours and the development of suicidal ideation among female workers: An 8-year population-based study using the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women & Family (2012–2020)
Seong-Uk Baek, Yu-Min Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon
Psychiatry Research.2024; 333: 115731. CrossRef
Special Series I: Working hours as a social determinant of workers’ health
Kyunghee Jung-Choi, Tae-Won Jang, Mo-Yeol Kang, Jungwon Kim, Eun-A Kim
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
Association between long working hours and cigarette smoking, leisure-time physical activity, and risky alcohol use: Findings from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2014–2021)
Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon
Preventive Medicine.2023; 175: 107691. CrossRef

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Workers’ experiences with compensated sick leave due to musculoskeletal disorder: a qualitative study: Min Choi, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, Jinwoo Lee, Hye-Eun Lee, Junsu Byun, Jong Uk Won; Ann Occup Environ Med 2014;26:33-33. Published online November 4, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40557-014-0033-0

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Objectives

The most common occupational disease that is compensated by Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) in Korea is musculoskeletal disease (MSD). Although complaints about the workers’ compensation system have been raised by injured workers with MSD, studies that examine workers’ experiences with the Korean system are rare. This paper is a qualitative study designed to examine injured workers’ experiences with the workers’ compensation system in Korea. The aim of this study is to explore the drawbacks of the workers’ compensation system and to suggest ways to improve this system.

Methods

All workers from an automobile parts factory in Anseong, GyeongGi province who were compensated for MSD by IACI from January 2003 to August 2013 were invited to participate. Among these 153 workers, 142 workers completed the study. Semi-structured open-ended interviews and questionnaires were administered by occupational physicians. The responses of 131 workers were analyzed after excluding 11 workers, 7 of whom provided incomplete answers and 4 of whom were compensated by accidental injury. Based on their age, disease, department of employment, and compensation time, 16 of these 131 workers were invited to participate in an individual in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted by one of 3 occupational physicians until the interview contents were saturated.

Results

Injured workers with MSD reported that the workers’ compensation system was intimidating. These workers suffered more emotional distress than physical illness due to the workers’ compensation system. Injured workers reported that they were treated inadequately and remained isolated for most of the recuperation period. The compensation period was terminated without ample guidance or a plan for an appropriate rehabilitation process.

Conclusions

Interventions to alleviate the negative experiences of injured workers, including quality control of the medical care institutions and provisions for mental and psychological care for injured workers, are needed to help injured workers return to work earlier and more healthy.

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Chairless Chairs for Orthopedic Surgery Purpose – A Literature Review
Gatot Santoso, S. Sugiharto, Abdul Mughni, Muhammad Imam Ammarullah, Athanasius P. Bayuseno, J. Jamari
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences.2022; 10(F): 146. CrossRef
Factors related to the physician and the employer influencing successful return to work in Korea: results from the first panel study of workers’ compensation insurance (PSWCI)
Wanhyung Lee, Jin-Ha Yoon, Jaehoon Roh, Yeong-Kwang Kim, Hongdeok Seok, June-Hee Lee, Jong-Uk Won
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2015;[Epub] CrossRef
The effects of individual, occupational, and supportive factors on successful return to work using a structural equation model
Jongin Lee, Min Choi, Sung Hye Park, Hyoung-Ryoul Kim, Hye-Eun Lee
Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.2015;[Epub] CrossRef

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