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Mental illness has emerged as the most prevalent work-related disease category Korean civil servants suffer, the Ministry of Personnel Management said Friday, attributing the findings to excessive workloads and malicious complaints from the public.

According to the ministry's survey, 274 cases of mental illnesses were reported in 2022, surpassing other ailments such as musculoskeletal disorders, which stood at 226, and cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases at 111.

The data highlighted a stark contrast in the incidence rates of mental illness between civil servants and industrial workers. When comparing the number of mental illness cases per 10,000 individuals, the rate for civil servants stood at 2.14 percent, approximately 11 times higher than the 0.19 percent observed in industrial sectors.

The ministry said such differences are related to factors such as high job pressure due to excessive workloads, an increase in malicious complaints, a rigid organizational culture and workplace bullying.

In response to these findings, the ministry announced plans to shift its focus from post-accident compensation to proactive prevention strategies. It is also pushing to draw up a comprehensive government-wide disaster prevention plan to better protect civil servants.

"We will come up with substantial countermeasures for the health and safety of civil servants based on compensation statistics," a ministry official said.