<Anchor>

friendly economy, reporter Aeri Kwon is listed. Today (1st), we are still informing you that there will be areas with bad air due to fine dust coming over from China. How does Korea's fine dust level 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 particulate matter, but we also have more than twice the OECD average.

The airiest is 4~5 times more than that of Nordic countries.

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 causes 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 2020. Even though it had improved tremendously, it was the most serious condition in the OECD.

And that's the Covid period from 2020-22, which the National Statistics Development Institute safety report shows that air quality is starting 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 the skin, the respiratory tract, without anyone pointing out the 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 able to pay as much attention to the climate issue, coal fuel particulate matter, and the problem of fine dust for the time being.

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>

we've 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 New types of crime online 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 for the first time.

More efforts are needed to reduce industrial damage.