Business Community Questions Effectiveness of 'Comprehensive Labor Safety Measures' in Preventing Accidents

"Focus Solely on Strengthening Post-Accident Punishments... No Effect on Reducing Industrial Accidents"

The business community on September 15 questioned whether the government's newly announced "Comprehensive Labor Safety Measures"-which emphasize strict punishment-are truly effective in preventing major industrial accidents.

The Korea Employers Federation stated in a position paper released the same day, "Employer penalties under Korea's safety and health laws are already among the most severe in the world, and the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which is unprecedented globally, has been enacted and enforced. However, there has been no clear reduction in industrial accidents," expressing its concerns.

On this day, the Ministry of Employment and Labor announced the "Comprehensive Labor Safety Measures," which include strengthening economic penalties that currently amount to only minor fines, and significantly easing the requirements for imposing business suspension sanctions on companies that violate the law.

Kim Byungki, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the government-party consultation on comprehensive labor safety measures for preventing major industrial accidents held by the Industrial Accident Prevention Task Force at the National Assembly on September 15, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The Korea Employers Federation criticized, "Whenever a major industrial accident causes social controversy, the government has responded by focusing solely on strengthening post-accident punishments without offering fundamental preventive measures. The latest measures include expanded criminal penalties, the imposition of massive fines based on operating profit (up to 5% of operating profit, with a minimum of 3 billion won), stricter business suspension and public bidding restrictions, a three-year ban on employing foreign workers, and tougher requirements for deregistering construction companies (revoking business licenses). These provisions fundamentally restrict corporate management and could even determine whether a company survives or fails."

The Federation further warned, "If these measures are legislated, the impact will be significant not only on individual companies but also on related businesses and partner firms, and this could have a serious negative effect on the national economy. We urge the government to move away from punishment-focused policies whose effectiveness in preventing industrial accidents has not been proven, and instead to actively pursue a variety of support-centered policies and prevention initiatives that promote the establishment of autonomous safety management systems within companies."

They added, "Many small and micro-sized enterprises are struggling to comply with the Serious Accident Punishment Act, and since most fatal accidents occur at companies with fewer than 50 employees, industrial accident prevention policies should focus on expanding support for vulnerable workplaces and groups. We strongly urge that these perspectives from the business sector be fully reflected in the detailed discussions and legislative process as the comprehensive measures move forward."

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