In Jeonnam, South Korea, labor rights organizations have initiated one-person protests across the region following alarming incidents of industrial accidents and violations of worker rights. These groups, including the Gwangju-Jeonnam Workers' Safety and Health Guardians, Metal Workers' Union Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch, and Jeonnam Migrant Workers' Human Rights Network, staged simultaneous protests on various locations such as the Jeonnam Provincial Government Office and elsewhere on the 18th. They plan to continue these protests weekly until substantial measures are implemented by relevant authorities.

Despite the Lee Jae-myung administration prioritizing 'serious accident reduction,' labor rights groups highlight that the reality on the ground contradicts this narrative, with ongoing incidents particularly affecting vulnerable groups like subcontracted and migrant workers. This month alone, two serious industrial accidents occurred in Jeonnam, including the death of a worker at a ship manufacturing subcontractor in Gwangyang and a scuba diver who died under a floating dock in Mokpo, raising urgent concerns among advocacy groups regarding workplace safety.

Protesters have criticized the government's perception that the trend of serious industrial accidents is declining, as articulated by the Minister of Employment and Labor, Kim Young-hoon, arguing that such views are disconnected from the realities faced by workers. They also condemned the provincial government’s slow response to ongoing labor exploitation cases involving seasonal workers from the Philippines at oyster farms in Goheung, calling attention to the neglect of calls for a 'Migrant Workers' Human Rights Protection Council' by the Jeonnam immigration office. As protests continue, labor representatives stress that unless the systemic issues treating subcontracted workers as expendable persist, the cycle of fatalities will not cease.