Police, fire fighters and National Forensic Service officials investigate at a lithium battery factory that went up in flames in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, June 25. The fire that broke out the previous day killed 23 workers. Korea Times photo by Park Joo-young

Industrial disasters affecting immigrant workers are on the rise, driven by incidents at small manufacturing and construction worksites, with up to 10,000 cases expected this year, a labor ministry report showed Friday.

A total of 6,715 applications for the recognition of industrial disasters were filed by both registered and unregistered immigrant workers from January to August, with 6,324 of them approved, according to the ministry data submitted to Rep. Kim Wi-sang of the People Power Party.

Korea has seen a steady rise in industrial disasters involving foreign workers, with 8,054 cases in 2019, 8,062 in 2020, 8,555 in 2021, 8,886 in 2022 and 9,543 in 2023.

This year, an average of 839 cases have been filed every month so far. If this pace continues, the total number of cases would surpass 10,000 by the end of the year.

Of the cases filed this year, 74.8 percent were from either the manufacturing or construction sectors, with 66.8 percent coming from workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Korean Chinese workers accounted for 47.9 percent of industrial disaster cases this year, followed by Chinese at 10 percent, Vietnamese at 6.1 percent and Uzbek workers at 5.3 percent. (Yonhap)