<Anchor>

friendly economy, reporter Aeri Kwon is listed. Today (1st), I am still informing you that there will be areas with bad air due to the coming of fine dust from China, how does the level of fine dust in my country compare to other countries?

<Reporter>
There are a lot of people who are taking time off
today, but there are areas where they are reluctant to go out in the morning.

We have to live with the weather and fine dust checking all the time, but what about others, in conclusion, Korea has the most serious level of fine dust among the 38 OECD countries.

We are the only country in the OECD that has to live with as much dust care as we do.

Not only do we have the most fine dust, but we also have more than twice the OECD average, and 4~5 times more than the Nordic countries, which have the best air.

When particulate matter is at a serious level, it is classified as a social disaster.

From increasing the risk of miscarriage and premature birth to the adverse effects of brain hemorrhage and heart disease in the elderly, there are many studies that fine dust can cause great harm to our health.

So, last weekend, the National Statistics Development Institute released a multi-faceted report on how safe our country is right now, and it also focused on this level of fine dust.

Last Friday was World Safety Day, designated by the International Labour Organization (ILO), part of the United Nations.

On the occasion of Safety Day, we counted how safe Korea is across 60 categories.

The level of fine dust in Korea was truly worrying.

<Anchor>
I think it's a bit worrisome and depressing news that
even with this number is more than twice the OECD average. But isn't it also true that fine dust has improved a little in recent years?

<Reporter>

Yes. If you look at our Environment Department survey, there has been a noticeable improvement, especially in the last three years.

But the OECD data that you just saw, it's actually from 2020. Even though it had improved tremendously, it was the most serious condition in the OECD.

Then there's the Covid period from 2020-22, which the Institute of Statistics Safety Report shows that air quality has started to improve markedly.

It's been three years since Chinese factories have had to close.

Starting this spring, the number of days when the air is hot again is increasing, and it feels like a skin, a respiratory tract, without anyone pointing out statistics.

As China's factories begin to spin violently again, the air coming in from the Chinese side is becoming murky again, even on days when there is no yellow dust.

In the spring and winter, when air flows in from the West Sea, it is very likely that we will have to worry about the acrid air that we were accustomed to before the pandemic again.

Before the pandemic, China continued its efforts to control the amount of coal used to operate and heat factories in the eyes of the international community.

However, the US-China hegemony conflict, also known as the New Cold War, has become more serious as the pandemic has passed.

Many observers believe that China, which needs to restart its economy, will not be as concerned about climate, coal-fueled, and particulate matter issues as it did for the foreseeable future.

This is why Korea, where air mixed with soot from Chinese factories is inevitably introduced, cannot be reassured by the status of fine dust improvement recorded in this safety report.

<Anchor>

I think there are statistics in other sectors besides fine dust, but tell me more.

<Reporter>

I looked at 60 things in all.

In terms of trends, there are about 27 things that are worsening or serious problems that are continuing, and about 33 things that are improving, according to the National Statistics Development Institute.

Speaking of air, ozone concentrations continue to rise.

And as COVID has gone on, so has the level of child abuse and social isolation. On the other hand, the number of hospital beds and the number of police and fire personnel continue to increase.

The crime rate is now at its lowest level in a decade. 2021 is the latest statistic. That's down 12% from 20 years.

But sexual violence crimes have increased. Cybercrime and new online crimes are constantly on the rise.

And last year, the number of deaths from industrial accidents in Korea was 2,223. That's 143 more than a year ago.

The number of workers' deaths has been inching back up since 2019.

Recently, a company representative who violated the Serious Accident Punishment Act was sentenced to prison for the first time, and it can be said that more efforts are needed to reduce industrial damage.