The Last "On-Site Inspection Day" Before the Serious Accident Punishment Act... "Seven Out of Ten Construction Workers Violate Safety Rules"

Nationwide Regional Labor Inspectors Mobilized for On-Site Inspections
Explanation of '50 Regular Employees' Calculation Method

Many Cases of Non-Compliance with Construction and Manufacturing Regulations
Frequent Worker Negligence: 'Failure to Wear Personal Protective Equipment'
Questions Raised About the Effectiveness of 'Management Responsibility Punishment' Law

On the 13th, the site office of HDC Hyundai Development Company in Gwangju. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced on the 25th that it will conduct a "Field Inspection Day," mobilizing labor inspectors nationwide to examine workplaces one last time before the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act. During this inspection, explanations on the complex calculation method for the number of regular workers in both primary and subcontractors will also be provided.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated that on this day, it will operate the final "Field Inspection Day" before the law takes effect, targeting manufacturing and construction workplaces nationwide with 50 or more regular workers (or construction projects with costs exceeding 5 billion KRW). During the inspection, special explanations will be given to businesses on how to calculate the number of regular workers subject to the law. According to the ministry, even if a subcontractor's workplace has fewer than 50 workers, if combined with other subcontractor workplaces the total exceeds 50, the law applies. Workplaces with fewer than 50 workers are generally exempt from the law until January 27, 2024, but if the number increases to 50 or more in the meantime, they will immediately fall under the law's jurisdiction.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor also announced the results of 12 rounds of "Field Inspection Days" conducted from July 14 to December 22 last year. Despite being just before the law's enforcement, many industrial sites nationwide were found to still violate the three major safety measures (fall and entrapment prevention, and wearing personal protective equipment). This indicates a high risk of serious industrial accidents occurring. Among the 26,424 workplaces inspected during the 12 rounds, 16,718 workplaces (63.3%) were found to have violated the three major safety measures and have since corrected these issues.

The highest number of violations was found among construction workers. Out of 18,978 workplaces, 12,720 (67%) violated regulations. This was significantly higher compared to manufacturing (3,705 violations out of 6,858 workplaces, 54%) and other industries (293 violations out of 588 workplaces, 49.8%).

Regarding the types of violations, in construction, among a total of 35,973 violations, "lack of safety railings" was the most frequent with 15,109 cases (42%). In manufacturing, out of 9,556 violations, "failure to implement protective measures" was the most common with 2,282 cases (23.9%).

Notably, "failure to wear personal protective equipment" ranked second in construction with 10,843 cases (30.1%) and fourth in manufacturing with 1,117 cases (11.7%), representing a significant proportion. This suggests that no matter how well management establishes safety and health management systems, serious industrial accident deaths and injuries can still occur due to individual worker negligence. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of the law, which is premised on "punishing management responsibility." Kim Gyuseok, Director of Industrial Accident Prevention and Supervision Policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, emphasized, "Still, 63 out of 100 workplaces do not implement safety measures, and 26 out of 100 workers do not wear personal protective equipment. It appears that small-scale workplaces still lack clear awareness of the importance of safety and responsible behavior from each individual."

The government, led by Minister of Employment and Labor Ahn Kyung-deok, is urging local employment and labor offices to strengthen initial investigations into serious accidents to prevent a "second Gwangju accident." Director Kim stated, "If responsible behavior is lacking and safety management is neglected, it could lead to incidents like the recent Gwangju collapse accident, causing fatal crises to a company's reputation and existence. We hope that safety activities will operate not just as a paperwork system but as a culture, with everyone from management to workers taking responsible safety actions as soon as possible."