South Korea is changing its approach to honoring migrant workers killed in workplace accidents, exemplified by a ceremony at Incheon International Airport for a deceased Vietnamese worker. The Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service is leading efforts to provide more dignified farewells.

On a quiet March morning at Incheon International Airport, the head of a government agency responsible for administering industrial accident insurance stood before a memorial adorned with flowers and a photo of Nguyen Van Tuan. The 23-year-old Vietnamese worker had died 10 days earlier in a conveyor belt accident at a gravel factory in Icheon, Gyeonggi province. Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (K-Comwel) President Park Jong-kil bowed deeply, offered flowers and placed his hand on...