Government to Invest 2 Trillion Won by Next Year to Eradicate Serious Industrial Accidents

Government Announces Comprehensive Labor Safety Plan
Legal Grounds Established for Dismissing Heads of Public Enterprises Responsible for Serious Accidents
Fines Imposed on Companies with Three or More Fatal Accidents Annually

The government will invest approximately 2 trillion won by next year to protect small businesses with a high proportion of major industrial accidents, as well as foreign workers, specially employed workers, and elderly workers. Going forward, companies with three or more fatal accidents per year will be subject to fines, and companies with repeated major accidents will face stricter restrictions on participating in public tenders.

On September 15, the Ministry of Employment and Labor released a comprehensive labor safety plan for preventing industrial accidents. Minister Kim Younghoon emphasized, "Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the reason for the state's existence," and added, "Preventing industrial accidents benefits both labor and management."

The core of this plan is to eliminate safety blind spots. First, support for safety equipment and facilities for small businesses will be significantly expanded. The government will invest a total of 2.0723 trillion won by 2026 to provide comprehensive support in finance, manpower, and technology. A new support program worth 43.3 billion won has been established to provide new equipment and items to prevent falls, entrapments, and collisions at workplaces with fewer than 10 employees and construction sites with a project value of less than 5 billion won.

Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, is speaking at the ruling party-government consultation on comprehensive labor safety measures for preventing major industrial accidents during the Industrial Accident Prevention Task Force meeting held at the National Assembly on September 15, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The budget for smart safety equipment support will be increased to 37 billion won, and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) will be introduced for safety management. In industrial complexes densely populated with small businesses, the government will collaborate with labor-management councils and unions to allow the hiring of joint safety managers, and will reduce the self-funding ratio to ease the burden of appointing safety managers. Proactive consulting will be provided to 8,000 workplaces where serious injuries (requiring more than 90 days of medical care) have occurred, and financial support for improving risk factors will be linked to these efforts.

Measures to protect foreign workers will also be strengthened. If a foreign worker (E-9 or H-2 visa) dies, the period during which the employer is restricted from hiring foreign workers will be extended from the current one year to three years. Additionally, 200 long-term foreign workers will be designated as "Foreign Safety Leaders" to provide safety training and share expertise with their peers. For specially employed workers such as quick delivery drivers, mandatory enrollment in paid transport insurance and safety education will be reinforced. For workers aged 60 or older, 3 billion won will be provided to improve working environments.

Local governments will also participate in industrial accident prevention. The government plans to expand the number of workplaces subject to inspection to 610,000 by 2028. The number of workplaces under the Ministry of Employment and Labor's supervision will increase significantly from 24,000 this year to 70,000 by 2028. Local governments will inspect 30,000 workplaces with fewer than 30 employees and invest 14.3 billion won in prevention projects tailored to local risk factors such as roofing and logging.

For small businesses, "Safety Keepers" will be utilized. One thousand retired professionals with experience and expertise will be hired or appointed to patrol 180,000 sites, and 330,000 workplaces will receive intensive guidance and management through private accident prevention agencies. Online basic safety education courses based on native languages and simplified Korean will be launched for foreign workers. Pre-employment training for CEOs and current employees, as well as on-site safety education at vocational high schools, will also be included.

Strengthening the Responsibility of Principal Contractors

At construction sites, the responsibility of principal contractors for accident prevention will be strengthened. Relevant laws will be amended to ensure appropriate construction costs and sufficient construction periods in subcontracting contracts. Clients will be required to calculate appropriate construction costs, and the level of fines for unfair special contract terms will be increased. Additionally, weather disasters such as heat waves will be recognized as grounds for extending construction periods to ensure worker safety.

Public institutions will also play a leading role. Legal grounds will be established to allow the dismissal of heads of institutions responsible for major accidents, and the score for industrial accident prevention in public institution management evaluations will be significantly increased from the current 0.5 points. Local public corporations will also expand the evaluation of safety activities.

Crackdowns on illegal subcontracting will be regularized, and the level of sanctions will be strengthened. It will become mandatory to select and contract with qualified subcontractors who have the ability to prevent industrial accidents, addressing structural vulnerabilities.

Workers' rights will also be strengthened. The scope of industrial safety and health committees, in which both principal and subcontractor labor and management participate, will be expanded to establish and assign responsibility for implementing their own safety regulations. Workers will be newly granted the right to stop work, and the requirements for exercising this right will be eased. To prevent the recurrence of accidents, accident investigation reports detailing the circumstances and causes will be released, and a safety and health disclosure system will be introduced for workplaces with more than 500 employees.

The industrial safety infrastructure will also be greatly expanded. Industrial safety inspectors will be increased, and local governments will be granted the authority to supervise prevention at workplaces with fewer than 30 employees. To this end, a new law tentatively titled "Act on the Duties and Delegation of Labor Inspectors" will be enacted, and unified enforcement standards will be established. Recruitment of technical personnel will be expanded, and a national certification system for industrial safety and health job competencies will be introduced to provide additional points for promotion. After appointment, expertise will be enhanced through apprenticeship training and field-based experiential education.

On the 16th, union members affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, demanding the dismissal of the constitutional petition related to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and urging strict enforcement. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

Fines for Companies with Three or More Fatal Accidents Per Year

Unlike the previous system, where fines for violating safety and health measures were minimal, companies with three or more fatal accidents per year will now be subject to fines. The fines collected will be reinvested in accident prevention. The requirements for suspension of business for construction companies will be expanded to include "multiple fatalities per year," and the suspension period will be extended from the current 2-5 months depending on the number of deaths.

For companies with repeated major accidents, the period during which they are restricted from participating in public tenders will be strengthened, and the occurrence of major accidents will be reflected in public procurement evaluations for construction, goods, and services. Major accident risks will also be reflected in financial sector and capital market evaluations. Criteria for loan interest rates and limits, as well as insurance premium calculations, will change, and listed companies will be required to promptly disclose the occurrence and rulings of major accidents.

Accident investigation and prosecution will also be strengthened. If the Minister of Employment and Labor determines that there is an imminent danger, a system will be established to allow the issuance of an emergency work stoppage order. Companies where major accidents occur will be subject to swift investigation, referral, and prosecution. In consultation with the Sentencing Commission, sentencing standards for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act will be raised, and new sentencing guidelines will be established for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

This plan was developed as a comprehensive, pan-government measure in response to a directive from the President, with all ministries cooperating. The government collected opinions from the field through meetings with labor and management organizations, experts, town hall meetings, and ministerial-level conferences, and used these to develop specific implementation tasks. Unlike previous accident reduction measures led mainly by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, this plan focuses on addressing the fundamental and structural causes of accidents through inter-ministerial cooperation.

Even after the announcement of the plan, the government will continue to monitor implementation together with labor and management, experts, and relevant ministries to ensure that a culture of labor safety takes root in the field. Minister Kim stated, "We will make this year the first year in which we shed the disgraceful label of being a kingdom of industrial accidents," and added, "We will hold a tripartite meeting of labor, management, and government representatives to discuss practical measures for the comprehensive plan and ensure that public institutions play a leading role in safety management."