업무상 과로나 스트레스로 인한 심뇌혈관 질환과 업무상 재해

In recent years, the number of overwork or stress-related death or cerebrocardiovascular disease (CCVD) is rapidly increasing. In June 2013, the Employment and Labor Ministry released updated criteria for the recognition of occupational CCVD according to Schedule 3 of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (IACIA) which suggests overwork as average of 60 hours a week for 12 weeks, average of 64 hours for 4 weeks, or the amount of work or time increase more than 30 percent greater than day-to-day operation of the case definition. However, reference to the standards of IACIA seems to be very harsh. At the same time, they are not scientifically proven. Therefore, we investigated many clinical studies related to excessive work- or stress-related CCVD. In previous studies, overwork is related to the increase of the incidence of CCVD which included less than 60 hours in a week. Furthermore, employees who experience work-related acute, subacute, and chronic stress can act trigger of cardiac events. Overall, the author insists that there is a lack of scientific evidence in the criteria of current Enforcement Decree of the industrial accident compensation insurance act (IACIA), and, therefore, the amendment is necessary. Judicial case is currently considered the current Enforcement Decree to a mere reference and seems to more lenient and interpret meaning of ‘proper casual relationship’ of overwork to be ‘joint cause’, ‘relative dominant cause’, or ‘the casual relationship which does not dement the proof of clear medical cause. But the problem is that those criteria are ambiguous and arbitrary. The author insists that both of individual standard or average people is inappropriate when judicial tests decide whether job stress or overwork is related to CCVD and other alternative approach is needed.