This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of government subsidy programs for industrial accident prevention by examining their accident reduction effects and by comparing the preventive outcomes of the Clean Workplace Program and the Safety Invest...
This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of government subsidy programs for industrial accident prevention by examining their accident reduction effects and by comparing the preventive outcomes of the Clean Workplace Program and the Safety Investment Innovation Program. Based on this analysis, the study seeks to assess the overall effectiveness of these subsidy programs and to propose policy improvement measures.
The results of the study are as follows. Regarding the distribution of accident-causing agents by program type in the manufacturing sector, the Safety Investment group showed a higher proportion of accidents involving machinery and equipment (56.1%) compared to the Clean Workplace group. In contrast, the Clean Workplace group exhibited a relatively higher proportion of accidents related to buildings, structures, and surfaces (16.2%) than the Safety Investment group. In terms of accident types, the Safety Investment group had a high proportion of caught-in or between accidents (50.4%), whereas the Clean Workplace group showed relatively higher proportions of slips (10.6%), falls from height (10.4%), and cuts, lacerations, or puncture wounds (10.1%).
An analysis of industrial accident classifications by subsidy receipt status indicated that the subsidy-recipient group had a higher proportion of serious injuries compared to the non-recipient group, while the non-recipient group exhibited higher proportions of minor injuries and fatalities. When comparing industrial accident rates, the national manufacturing accident rate increased from 0.747 in the pre-subsidy period (2017–2021) to 0.806 in the post-subsidy period (2022–2024). In contrast, the accident rate among subsidy-recipient manufacturing establishments decreased by approximately 4.03%, from 1.119 before subsidy receipt to 1.074 after receipt. An analysis by subsidy program type revealed that the accident rate for the Clean Workplace Program increased from 1.047 before subsidy receipt to 1.070 after receipt, whereas the Safety Investment Innovation Program showed a reduction of approximately 7.15%, declining from 1.161 to 1.078.
Based on these findings, this study suggests that future policy improvements should refine the targeting of eligible establishments according to accident-causing agents, accident types, and injury severity. In addition, further analysis of accident reduction effects by supported items, such as production equipment and auxiliary production facilities, could provide foundational evidence for enhancing the effectiveness of industrial accident prevention policies.