South Korea’s forests have become lush through decades of effort, and sustainable forest management is needed to maintain them. At the center of this is the safety of workers in the forest. However, working in the forest is high-risk labor with constant weather changes and geographical dangers, where a moment’s negligence can lead to fatal accidents.
In the past five years, approximately 15 workers have died annually in forest workplaces, and around 1,000 injuries occur each year. Over 90% of forest workplaces are small-scale with fewer than 20 workers, and a significant number of workers are over 60 years old. This reality shows that a moment’s negligence can lead to fatal accidents.
The Korea Forest Service is pushing to include safety and health management costs in forest project budgets and to strengthen penalties for safety violations. This is the minimum safety measure to protect workers in the forest. However, safety cannot be achieved through regulations alone; practical implementation on-site is crucial.
A shift in perception is needed to see safety as an ‘investment’ rather than a ‘cost.’ The field already knows that the budget and time spent on safety return as the most certain outcomes of accident prevention and life protection. Thoroughly implementing basic procedures can prevent accidents, and creating a safe forest environment requires continuous effort.