Launch of the Industrial Safety and Health Headquarters... Government Prepares for Enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act

In Charge of Major Accident Investigation and Prevention

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk inspecting safety management at a small-scale construction site near Sejong City on the afternoon of the 1st. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which allows for the punishment of management officials in cases of serious workplace accidents such as worker fatalities, the government has expanded and reorganized the organization responsible for law enforcement.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 29th that the Cabinet approved the amendment to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s organizational regulations. The amendment will take effect from the 1st of next month. The Ministry’s existing industrial safety organization, the "Occupational Accident Prevention and Compensation Policy Bureau," will be expanded and reorganized into the "Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters."

The Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters will establish industrial safety standards and policies and carry out tasks such as industrial safety supervision and accident prevention. While the existing bureau has five divisions, the headquarters will have two director-level positions under it?the Director of Occupational Safety and Health Policy and the Director of Accident Prevention and Supervision Policy?and will oversee nine divisions and one team. The workforce will increase from 47 to 87 personnel. Additionally, 17 new divisions, including the Construction Accident Guidance Division responsible for construction safety management, will be established in regional employment and labor offices. Field personnel responsible for guidance and supervision will also increase by 106.

The government’s significant expansion of the industrial safety organization is a measure to implement the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which will be enforced from January next year, stipulates that management officials such as CEOs of companies where serious accidents occur will be subject to punishment if they fail to fulfill obligations such as establishing safety and health management systems. Expanding the organization to investigate the safety and health management systems of companies where serious accidents occur has become inevitable. The need to increase personnel to perform serious accident prevention tasks has also grown.

The Serious Industrial Accident Supervision Division within the headquarters will be responsible for investigating serious accidents. The government is also pursuing plans to launch an independent Occupational Safety and Health Agency based on the headquarters.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "The Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters will expand cooperation with related ministries, local governments, and others through its enhanced functions and personnel," and added, "It will also expand its contact points with the public through building big data on industrial accidents and operating industrial accident information systems."

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