Decade of safety lapses leaves Korea facing record number of public emergencies

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Korea grappled with its most turbulent year in terms of public safety crises in a decade, with a government report released Sunday detailing 39 major incidents nationwide in 2024. The grim milestone underscores a 10-year high in the frequency of large-scale emergencies caused by people and systemic failures.

The disasters caused 250 deaths, injured 967 people and left 16 missing, bringing the total number of casualties to 1,233. Property damage reached 131.09 billion won ($88.5 million), the Ministry of the Interior and Safety said in its annual disaster yearbook.

Social disasters are defined as incidents requiring a national or local government response, including fires, structural collapses, explosions, crowd crushes, aviation accidents, disruptions to critical infrastructure and the spread of infectious diseases.

The frequency of large-scale accidents rose roughly 22 percent from 32 cases in 2023.

Despite the rise in incidents, the number of deaths dropped sharply from 2023, declining by 3,215. Authorities attributed the decrease largely to the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced fatalities linked to infectious diseases.

In contrast, injuries surged, with 846 more people hurt than a year earlier — an increase of about 700 percent. Officials said the spike was driven mainly by a mass food poisoning outbreak at educational facilities that sickened 865 people.

The number of missing persons rose to 16 from four in 2023. All cases were linked to maritime disasters, the report said.

Fires were the most common social disaster last year, accounting for 16 cases. Those incidents killed 10 people, injured 52 others and caused 75.67 billion won in property damage.

Other incidents included five maritime disasters, three outbreaks of livestock diseases and two gas-related accidents. One case involved a disruption of critical national infrastructure caused by a prolonged medical service gap stemming from a dispute between doctors and the government. Another involved an aviation accident in which a passenger aircraft crashed while attempting to land at an airport without an operational runway.

The frequency of major public safety emergencies has climbed over the last decade, surging from a mere seven cases in 2015 to the record highs seen today. Between 2015 and 2024, a total of 227 such systemic failures were documented nationwide, leaving a harrowing human toll in their wake: 36,447 deaths, 2,313 injuries, and 76 people missing. Beyond the loss of life, the cumulative economic fallout has also increased, with property damage over the 10-year period reaching 9.73 trillion won.