S. Korea hopes to cut 30 trillion won industrial accident losses in 2020 with new law

Industrial workplace accidents in South Korea cost 29 trillion won in 2020, up 8.5 percent on-year, which the country seeks to reduce with a new law heavily punishing employers for workplace disasters beginning next year.

There were 474 deaths from industrial accidents in the first half of 2021, up by four from the previous year.

Under the Serious Accident Punishment Act (SAPA), owners or CEOs of businesses that suffered industrial disasters due to lax workplace safety measures can be sentenced to at least one year in prison or up to 1 billion won in fines.

A Serious Industrial Accident under SAPA involves any death, injury, or illness caused by work-related structures, equipment, raw materials, gas, steam, dust, or caused in the course of performing works or other duties.

Meanwhile, SAPA classifies the Serious Public Accident as death, injury, or illness caused by a defect in design, manufacture, installation, or management of certain raw materials or products, public facilities, or public transportation means.