Serious Accident Punishment Act D-8... The Field Is Still in the Fog

Unclear Liability Standards and Punishment Regulations
Companies Struggling to Respond Independently

[Asia Economy Reporters Kangwook Cho, Changhwan Lee] With only eight days left until the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act), voices of concern about major confusion at the frontline of companies remain strong.

Experts point out that additional supplementation is necessary due to the ambiguity of the Serious Accidents Act, such as unclear criteria for responsible parties and excessive punishment regulations. Companies have taken independent measures by establishing dedicated organizations and rules for the Serious Accidents Act, but these efforts are insufficient.

On the 19th, at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, during the 'Serious Accident Prevention Industrial Safety Forum' hosted by the Korea Employers Federation, the first presenter, Professor Jinwoo Jeong of the Department of Safety Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, stated, "The ambiguity of the Serious Accidents Act is very large, and there are many parts where arbitrary interpretations by the government regarding the obligated parties and methods of fulfilling obligations can prevail."

The second presenter, Professor Seonggyu Kang of Gachon University Gil Medical Center, predicted that the Serious Accidents Act would cause confusion at workplaces as the scope of recognition for occupational diseases expands. Professor Kang emphasized, "Since not all diseases recognized as occupational accidents correspond to serious industrial accidents, confirming causality is important."

As the Serious Accidents Act emerges as a management variable, major companies are busy preparing countermeasures. Samsung Electronics has formed a separate organization to support environmental safety management of partner companies. The semiconductor division holds monthly meetings with CEOs of partner companies to share trends in environmental safety regulations.

LG Electronics recently established safety, environment, and health policies as a preemptive response and created a 'Chief Risk Officer (CRO)' organization.

Hyundai Motor Company plans to appoint a Chief Safety Officer (CSO) to strengthen on-site safety and has expanded the proportion of 'serious accident' prevention in key performance indicators for each organization.

POSCO strengthened on-site safety by promoting 40% of all newly promoted executive managers at the end of last year from field personnel. New indicators such as safety compliance rate and hazardous risk improvement rate will also be introduced.

Nevertheless, there are growing calls for the government and the National Assembly to actively revise the system. Lee Dong-geun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, said, "Efforts at workplaces are essential to reduce serious accidents, but the legal system needs to be clearly improved so that individual companies can focus on safety investments."

In particular, the construction industry is considered a sector directly affected by the Serious Accidents Act. The tension in the construction industry peaked following the collapse accident of a newly built apartment in Seo-gu, Gwangju, by HDC Hyundai Development Company (Hyundai Development).

Construction companies are reinforcing their organizations by upgrading existing dedicated safety management teams from 'departments' to 'headquarters' and increasing personnel. Samsung C&T granted the CSO independent authority over personnel, budget, and evaluation and established a Safety and Health Advisory Committee composed of external experts.

Hyundai Engineering pre-pays 50% of safety management costs to partner companies, Daewoo E&C gives contract priority to partner companies with excellent safety management, and Ssangyong E&C starts monthly headquarters meetings with on-site safety inspections.