Owners will face fines of $855,000 for lax measures
A new legislation in South Korea is set to enhance the protection of workers and punish employers over lax workplace safety measures. Yonhap News Agency reported that the enforcement decree of South Korea's new workplace disaster law was passed on Tuesday by the nation's Cabinet, giving way for its implementation in January.
Under the new law, business owners or chief executive officers of companies with five and more employees could face a year in prison or fines of up to KRW1 billion ($855,000) if a serious workplace accident took place because of lenient safety measures. In addition, convicted companies will also be disclosed to the public, according to The Korea Herald, including the details of the accident and previous cases in the past five years.
Aside from accidents, the law also covers occupational diseases, which includes illnesses caused or related to acute poisoning of 199 types of chemical and harmful factors, according to a report from The Korea Herald. Executives are also mandated by the law to establish safety and health management policies, create new positions and allocate funds dedicated to addressing workplace safety, and review their company's work hazard conditions and ways to address them every six months. Companies with more than 500 full-time employees are also mandated to form a unit dedicated to safety and health control.
"The focus of the envisioned law is not on punishment, but on prevention of serious workplace disasters. It will provide as the minimum legal framework for safety," the government was quoted as saying by The Korea Herald.
Read more: How better employee monitoring enhances workplace safety
The new law was passed despite strong criticism from various groups, particularly on the provisions of punishments to businesses. The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) previously said in a statement earlier this year that the law places an "undue burden on the CEO of corporations alone, given that existing laws already punish the corporations for negligence."
Even smaller companies will also be hit hard by the bill, according to the head of the Korea Federation of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises). Kim Ki-mun said business owners are distraught to see such law at a time when smaller companies are trying to remain afloat due to reduced sales because of the pandemic.
Another criticism of the law was its exclusion of cardiovascular-related diseases and musculoskeletal illnesses. Labour groups said such diseases are connected to overworking in companies.
Long working hours is regarded as the deadliest workplace factor in a report from the United Nations, adding that it is responsible for 750,000 deaths annually.
