The number of people injured in traffic accidents at highway construction sites reached 41 as of September this year, a 57.7% increase from the 26 injured last year. In particular, the number of injured workers—18—was six times higher than last year’s figure.
According to an analysis of data received from the Korea Expressway Corporation on October 4 by Rep. Heo Young of the Democratic Party of Korea (Chuncheon, Cheorwon,Hwacheon·Yanggu A), a member of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee, analyzed data received from the Korea Expressway Corporation on October 4. The data revealed that from 2023 through September 29 of this year, 152 traffic accidents occurred in highway construction zones, resulting in 30 deaths and 125 injuries. Of these, seven workers were killed and 29 were injured, while 23 drivers and passengers were killed and 96 were injured.
By year, the number of accidents was 28 in 2023, 41 in 2024, and 45 in 2025—a 60.7% increase over two years—and 38 accidents have occurred so far this year through September 29. The number of fatalities decreased from 11 each in 2023 and 2024 to 5 in 2025 and 3 this year. In contrast, the number of injuries surged from 24 in 2023, to 34 in 2024, to 26 in 2025, and reached 41 this year. The number of injured workers was 5 in 2023 and 3 each in 2024 and 2025, but rose to 18 this year, accounting for 43.9% of all injuries.
The most common type of accident was rear-end collisions with work protection vehicles safeguarding the work site, totaling 127 cases. When combined with 5 cases of collisions with work protection vehicles on the shoulder, the total reaches 132 cases, accounting for 86.8% of all accidents. These two types alone resulted in 25 deaths and 95 injuries. In addition, there were 18 cases of encroachment into work zones (4 fatalities, 28 injuries), 1 case of collision with a worker (1 fatality), and 1 case of work equipment reversing (2 injuries).
The causes of the accidents were failure to pay attention to the road ahead in 107 cases (70.4%) and drowsiness in 38 cases (25.0%), with these two factors accounting for 95.4% of the total. By time of day, daytime accidents totaled 105 (19 fatalities, 79 injuries), exceeding the 47 nighttime accidents (11 fatalities, 46 injuries). By type of work, accidents occurring during transit accounted for 61 cases (40.1%), resulting in 6 fatalities and 39 injuries.
By railway line, the Gyeongbu Line had the highest number of accidents with 22, followed by the West Coast Line and the Central Inland Line with 16 each, and the Yeongdong Line with 12. Accidents on these four lines accounted for 43.4% of the total. The Gyeongbu Line also saw the highest number of casualties, with 5 fatalities and 23 injuries. Four people died on each of the West Coast Line, the Tongyeong-Daejeon Line, and the Jungbu Line, while the number of injuries was highest on the West Coast Line (14) and followed by the Suncheon-Wanju Line (13).
Rep. Heo Young stated, “The number of injuries this year from accidents in highway construction zones has already surpassed last year’s annual total,” adding, “We must strengthen advance notifications and warnings for vehicles approaching construction zones and supplement accident prevention measures to ensure the safety of both drivers and construction workers.”
