Maximum Sentence of 10 Years and 6 Months for Death Due to Safety Duty Violation... Sentencing Guidelines Confirmed

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The maximum prison sentence that a business owner can receive when a worker dies due to the business owner’s failure to fulfill safety management obligations has been significantly increased to 10 years and 6 months.

On the 29th, the Supreme Court Sentencing Commission announced that it had finalized the revision of the sentencing guidelines for the Industrial Safety and Health Act through a plenary session.

Sentencing guidelines refer to the standards that judges refer to when sentencing according to the law. Although judges are not strictly bound to follow them, if a judgment deviates from the sentencing guidelines, the reason must be stated in the judgment.

On this day, the Sentencing Commission allowed a prison sentence of 2 to 7 years in cases where the number of special aggravating factors exceeds the number of special mitigating factors by two or more (special aggravation area). If there are two or more special aggravating factors, the maximum recommended sentence was increased to 10 years and 6 months for multiple offenders who committed two or more of the same crimes and for recidivists within five years.

The basic sentencing guideline for crimes causing worker death by violating safety and health obligations under the Industrial Safety and Health Act was also raised from the previous 6 months to 1 year and 6 months to a prison term of 1 to 2 years and 6 months.

In addition, incidents where similar accidents repeatedly occurred or where multiple victims were involved were explicitly designated as special aggravating factors to ensure heavier punishment.

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