Minister of Employment Conducts Surprise Inspection at Redevelopment Site... "Imprisonment for Managers if Safety and Health Management Is Inadequate"

"Starting Next Year, Business Executives Face Over One Year Imprisonment for Inadequate Safety and Health Management Systems" Wedge

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk is seen conducting a safety inspection at the Woorim new construction site in the 1-5 residential zone of the Administrative City Complex in Sejong City on June 8. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] An Kyung-duk, Minister of Employment and Labor, made an unannounced visit to the construction site of the Sewoon redevelopment project in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 28th, the day the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was approved at the Cabinet meeting, to inspect the site’s safety and health management status.

This inspection was conducted considering the Cabinet’s approval of the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act that morning and the increasing trend of COVID-19 cases before and after the Chuseok holiday. Minister An personally carried the construction site safety inspection checklist and quarantine management checklist to verify compliance with basic safety rules and the status of quarantine management on site.

In addition to checking basic safety rules, he examined whether workers’ opinions related to safety and health at the construction site were being heard through pre-work safety meetings (TBM), and whether the site manager and safety officer had been granted the necessary authority and budget to perform safety and health management duties.

Minister An said, "From next year, if a fatal accident occurs due to inadequate establishment and implementation of the safety and health management system, the management responsible will be sentenced to imprisonment of one year or more," adding, "To protect all workers, risk factors that were not anticipated during the planning and design stages must be identified and controlled immediately."