One Month of the Serious Accident Punishment Act... Concerns Persist Over 'Punishment Over Prevention'

Serious Accidents Occur Frequently Since Law Enforcement
Effect on Reducing Accidents Still Limited
"Institutional Support Needed More Than Fear"

Managers are conducting a safety inspection at an apartment construction site in Gyeonggi-do. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Since the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, a series of major fatal and injury accidents have occurred over the past month, raising doubts about the law's effectiveness. Because the Serious Accidents Punishment Act focuses on 'punishment' rather than 'prevention' of serious accidents as its name suggests, there has been no noticeable reduction in accidents, and concerns have been raised that it only increases the management burden on companies. Voices from the field suggest that instead of instilling fear in companies, the government should put more effort into establishing a systemic foundation that can effectively reduce serious accidents.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the industry on the 25th, since the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act on the 27th of last month, major accidents have occurred nationwide across various industries, including the landslide collapse at Sampyo Industrial Yangju quarry, the fall accident at Yojin Construction Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley, acute poisoning from trichloromethane at Duseong Industrial, and the heat exchanger explosion accident at Yeocheon NCC. Since the law's enforcement, there have been 11 deaths at workplaces with 50 or more employees (5 billion KRW or more in business scale). This is slightly lower compared to the 15 deaths from serious accidents during the same period last year, but industry analysis suggests there is little difference when considering accidents at workplaces not subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

On the other hand, the burden on the front lines is increasing. A representative from a major construction company said, "No matter how much systems and regulations are put in place, it is impossible to guarantee 100% safety, which is the problem," adding, "If the purpose of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is to prevent worker safety accidents, then the practices and institutional shortcomings at construction sites should be supplemented to enhance effectiveness." There are also criticisms that the government, focusing on punishment, fails to consider the realities.

Yojin Construction, which is under investigation for an elevator fall accident during building construction, is a typical example. Usually, elevator installation, which requires specialized skills, is comprehensively managed by the installation company in terms of personnel and safety. However, since the elevator installation accounts for only about 500 million KRW out of the total construction cost of 48 billion KRW, Hyundai Elevator, whose sales exceed 1 trillion KRW, avoided the law's application, and only Yojin Construction is under investigation.

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