80% of Small and Medium Enterprises Say "Serious Accident Punishment Act Increases Management Burden"

3 out of 10 Companies Say "Unable to Bear Costs of Enhanced Safety and Health Measures"

Management Burden on Small and Medium Enterprises Due to the Enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act
[Photo by Korea Federation of SMEs]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] Eight out of ten small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) feel burdened by the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. About half of the companies expressed their intention to respond to the Serious Accidents Act by maintaining the current status. It was confirmed that most industrial accident cases occurred due to workers' carelessness and failure to comply with safety guidelines.

The Korea Federation of SMEs announced on the 16th that these responses were revealed through a survey on "SMEs' Opinions on the Serious Accidents Act and Industrial Safety." The survey was conducted from the 21st of last month to the 1st of this month, targeting 500 SMEs.

Among SMEs, 45.8% answered that the enactment of the Serious Accidents Act is very burdensome, and 34.2% responded that it is somewhat burdensome. By industry, manufacturing (87.4%) felt more burdened than service industries (62.7%), and by size, companies with 50 or more employees (86%) felt more burdened than those with fewer than 50 employees (66%).

Regarding response plans, 58.6% of companies said they would strengthen worker safety education. 50.2% said they would maintain the current status.

Causes of Industrial Accident Occurrences.
Photo by Jungso Gieop Junganghoe

The main cause of industrial accidents was identified as "worker carelessness and non-compliance with guidelines (75.6%)." This was followed by "lack of work manuals (9%)," "lack of professional management personnel (8.2%)," "aging facilities (6%)," and "lack of awareness by the representative (1.2%)."

Among companies with fewer than 50 employees, 64% were found to have no dedicated safety manager. Looking at all SMEs, 41.8% responded that there is no separate manager who is practically responsible for safety and health.

The biggest difficulty in the safety and health management process was "controlling and managing workers' work due to non-compliance with guidelines (42.8%)." This was followed by "lack of worker proficiency due to frequent turnover (21.6%)," "difficulty in understanding legal safety obligations (15.4%)," and "increased burden of safety management costs (12.4%)."

'Whether safety management costs are separately reflected in delivery unit prices, etc.' and 'Methods to resolve costs when strengthening safety and health measures.'
Photo by Jungso Gieop Junganghoe

80% of companies responded that it is difficult to cover the costs required to strengthen safety and health measures at the current level of delivery prices. Companies that said it was completely impossible accounted for 32.6%. 76.8% of companies stated that safety management costs were not separately reflected in delivery prices.

52.6% of companies cited "support for investment costs in safety equipment" as the most needed government support. This was followed by "support for labor costs for hiring professional personnel (33.6%)," "strengthening on-site guidance tailored to industry and company characteristics (32.8%)," "preparation and distribution of safety obligation manuals by industry and task (24.6%)," and "reflection of safety management costs in public procurement prices (12.4%)."

Lee Taehee, Head of the Smart Jobs Division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, said, "There are clear human and financial limitations for SMEs to strengthen their safety capabilities on their own amid the COVID-19 aftermath. Rather than tightening companies only through punishment, active government support is needed to practically prevent industrial accidents on-site, such as support for facility investment and personnel recruitment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.