• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.180-188
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the health status between foreign workers and native workers and to examine the influencing factors of health status of foreign and native workers. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the data collected from the 3rd (2011) Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). The sample included 101 foreign workers and 101 native workers matched by age and gender. Results: The difference in health status between foreign workers and native workers was not statistically significant. The most commonly complained health problem of foreign workers was muscle pain of the upper limbs. Among foreign workers, hazard exposure, coworker support and supervisor support were significant predictors of health status. Among native workers, income level and obesity were significant predictors of health status. Conclusion: For health management and health promotion of foreign workers, employers and health providers need to establish coworker supporting systems in workplace and improvement strategies of work environment. Particularly, they must pay closer attention to management of foreign workers' musculoskeletal disorder.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.145-167
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• 2009

This study aims to examine attitudes of Korean workers towards foreign workers and predictors of their attitudes. The data for this study come from a survey conducted among 500 Korean workers employed at the companies which also hire foreign workers in Gyeonggi and Incheon areas. The findings reveal that a little more than half of Korean workers agree to give foreign workers the same labor rights as Korean workers and to allow them to bring their family members into Korea while a little less than half of them do not agree to grant residentship or citizenship to foreign workers. Attitudes towards foreign workers tend to be favorable with increase in perception of multiculturalism, period of working experience with foreign workers and education, and with decrease in feeling of threat from foreign workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.53-58
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• 2018

Background: Since the Republic of Korea became a labor-force-importing country, the number of foreign workers has increased gradually, especially in the construction industry. The main objective of this study was to examine the differences in safety perception between domestic and foreign workers at Korean construction sites. Methods: A total of 891 Korean and foreign workers were surveyed: 140 foreign and 751 Korean workers. The general characteristics and 25 factors influencing safety perception were considered in the questionnaire. Regression and correlation analyses were conducted to examine the variables of workers' safety perception. Results: Differences of nationality (F = 7.379, p < 0.001) and workplace accidents were statistically significant for both domestic (F = 1.503, p < 0.05) and foreign workers (F = 7.868, p < 0.05). In contrast, age, education, and Korean language level were significant variables only for foreign workers. Correlation coefficients of $0.428^{**}$ for Korean and 0.148 for foreign workers between two items - namely, "management's commitment to safety" and "blaming staff when they make mistakes" - support the conclusion that foreign workers do not trust management's commitment to safety, while Korean workers have confidence in these commitments. Conclusion: Foreign workers' level of safety perception should rise to the same level as Korean workers, especially in terms of obeying safety rules, safety education performance, and safety beliefs. Therefore, an improvement plan for the Korean construction industry is suggested in order to have a better safety level at construction sites with foreign workers.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.187-207
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• 2021

This study examined the perception of farmers who employ foreign workers. A survey was conducted on 110 farms, and the main research results are as follows. First, as many farmers hire foreign workers in informal ways other than the employment permit system or seasonal worker programs, it is important to increase the number of registered foreign workers through the employment permit system or seasonal worker programs. Second, it is important to improve farmers' perception of compliance with the minimum wage, as some farmers pay wages below the legal minimum wage. Third, the subjective productivity evaluation results of farmers showed that the difference in labor productivity between foreigners and foreigners was not significant. This means that hiring foreign workers is due to other factors such as ease of management and cost rather than productivity. Fourth, many farmers were willing to hire existing foreign workers even if they paid extra wages after the expiration of the employment permit system. Finally, promotion and improvement of the additional system for foreign workers' workplaces are needed to solve problems caused by foreign employment during off-farming season.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.213-234
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• 2010

This study focused on the determining factors of foreign workers employment in Korean companies. To improve our national enterprise's work outcome, it is necessary to establish a rational employment management policy plan so that the Korea can promote influx of foreign workers who have appropriate job skills and are hard-working and well suited for cultural environment. Accordingly, the companies need to develop the program by considering following. First, the duty of skilled foreign workers for employment is an important determinant factor and thus the targeting for foreign workers is necessary to proceed with pre-paced training. Second, reflecting the cultural characteristics of migrant workers, a cultural adjustment program needs to be developed. In this regard, the national program of screening foreign workers at the government level and the adaptation program needs to be launched suitable for local environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.96-104
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• 2012

The objective of this study is to compare on the occupational injury rate and mortality rate of all workers and foreign workers. By doing so, this study seeks to find out the improvements necessary to secure the basic safety net for foreign workers, as well as to find out the legal and institutional measures in place to make timely political intervention and protect the health of foreign workers. The status of foreign workers in Korea, their employment trends by industries, and occupational accident types and scales of Korean and foreign workers were analyzed from 2005 to 2009. Each year, foreign workers' occupational injury rate was much lower than Korea's overall occupational injury rate. But when analyzed by industry, occupational injury rate (death rate per 10,000 workers) of manufacturing industry was about 2 to 5 times higher than the overall occupational injury rate in Korea. Also, construction industry showed 3 to 16 times higher rate than the rate of overall industries. Although the death rate per 10,000 workers showed a declining yearly trend, foreign workers' occupational injury rate has the tendency to increase gradually. In particular, occupational injury rates and death rates per 10,000 workers were considerably high in the manufacturing and construction industries.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.561-564
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• 2010

Purpose: According to the data presented by ministry of justice, a number of foreign workers in Korea is approximately 700 thousands and among them 22 thousands are illegal workers. We would like to provide the basic information the foreign workers by analyzing clinical contents. Methods: 1456 patients who visited the hospital were reviewed by nationality, medical department, gender and age. 62 patients have visited plastic surgery department and they were additionally reviewed by diagnosis, chief complant and operation. Results: Mongolians were 388 cases (26.7%), followed by Chineses with 452 cases (31.1%). General surgery had 264 visits (18.1%) followed by internal medicine with 388 visits (26.6%). In gender grouping, 781 patients were males and 675 patients were females. Hand, face and extremity injuries were common in plastic surgery field but many foreign worker patients also wanted to take aesthetic surgery such as scar revision, blepharoplasty and augmentation rhinoplasty. Conclusion: It has been twenty years since foreign workers have come to the Korean society. In the past foreign workers were mostly neglected. However with the vast improvement in labor and welfare related services, demands for plastic surgery, especially aesthetic surgery are increasing among foreign workers. Therefore plastic surgeons' continuous interest in foreign workers is required.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.1216-1222
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• 2005

A shortage of construction field workers has been a serious problem, both in the developed and in the developing countries. As a solution for conquering this problem, these countries import foreign laborers from nearby less-developed countries. While this contributes to lessening the labor deficiency, foreign workers are relatively inefficient in productivity and are often exposed to the cross-cultural risks due to cultural differences, communication difficulties, different work ethics and customs, etc. Despite these facts, construction firms do not well address these issues and are lagged in establishing an appropriate management strategy against it. This paper presents a practical management plan for foreign construction workers through Focus Group Interviews (FGI) and survey investigation. On this basis, this study examines the level of awareness and important managerial aspects of the issue of foreign laborers. Finally, it suggests a cross-cultural and ready-to-use practical human resource management plan for facilitating the foreign worker's productivity.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.53-63
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to grasp foreign worker's industrial safety and health state, which find out the improvement to secure the basic safety net for foreign workers. We have investigated 2,050 workers through direct interviews during the period from April 12, 2010 to May 31, 2010. And the result of analysis, foreign worker's daily average working time is 10.6 hours(40.8% workers in total work 10~12 hours), the extent of exposure to harmful and dangerous working environment is 'the position which cause pain in neck, waist, hands, shoulders, legs'(69.3%), 'repetitive hands and arms movement'(66.1%). It showed 'experience of accident damage or disease related work'(27.3%), 'never apply for industrial accident compensation' is revealed high at 73%. As a result of completing a safety health education for a year, it showed 'never educated'(40.2%), 'the institute that foreign workers have used for help and advice is the foreign worker's support center'(61.9%) Thus, hiring foreign workers in the company are small in site, the environment is too harmful and dangerous. In addition, no safety and health managers, legally blind spot located in the health and safety, because it is an urgent meet for these measures to improve.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2015.05a
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• pp.128-129
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• 2015

Domestic construction industry has seen a negative image in the sense that various accident occurs frequently. Status of construction accidents in the case of domestic workers is reduced. However, if the situation of foreign workers is increasing every year. This study aims to create high-temperature exposure standard table for foreign workers and domestic workers in the analysis through the discomfort index of fatalities and using the WBGT index for reducing fatalities foreign workers to improve the image of the construction industry.