[Exclusive] Government to Raise Bar for Safety Managers... Worsening Personnel Shortage Inevitable

Strengthening Safety Manager Qualification Standards... "On-Site Experience" Likely to Be Added
Current Requirements Focused on Academic Background and Certifications
"Insufficient to Assess Professional Expertise"
Industry Fears Worsening Labor Shortage... SMEs Facing Financial Difficulties Unable to Hire
Government: "Preparing Short-Term Solutions... Qualification Reinforcement to Be Implemented in 2-3 Years"

[Asia Economy, Sejong = Reporter Lee Junhyeong] The government has decided to strengthen the qualification requirements for safety managers, whose demand has surged following the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. This move aims to improve the qualitative level of safety management, and the government plans to add "on-site experience" to the existing safety manager qualifications. However, there are concerns within the industry that raising the bar for safety managers could exacerbate the ongoing shortage of safety management personnel.

According to relevant ministries on March 14, the Ministry of Employment and Labor recently began working-level efforts to strengthen the qualification standards for safety managers. The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, which operates under the ministry, has commissioned a research project and is reviewing the legal basis for these changes. The agency plans to establish specific measures to strengthen safety manager qualifications within the year through expert advisory meetings and other consultations. An official from the Ministry of Employment and Labor stated, "We believe that enhancing the competency of safety managers is essential to reducing serious accidents," and added, "We plan to raise the qualification requirements for safety managers by amending the Occupational Safety and Health Act."

The government intends to add requirements such as "on-site experience" to the qualifications for safety managers. This is because the current legal standards for safety managers are considered insufficient to comprehensively assess professional expertise. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, safety managers must meet conditions such as obtaining certifications like Industrial Safety Engineer or Construction Safety Engineer, or graduating from a four-year university with a degree in industrial safety-related fields. The government views these requirements as being overly focused on academic background and certifications. Therefore, it is considering adding experience in production fields at industrial sites to the qualifications for safety managers in order to enhance their expertise.

The problem is that raising the qualification bar for safety managers could worsen the personnel shortage. According to the enforcement decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, workplaces with 50 or more regular employees are required to have a dedicated organization overseeing safety and health duties, as well as the necessary personnel to prevent accidents. This is why companies have been actively recruiting safety managers since last year.

The industry believes that the demand for safety managers has already surpassed supply. In particular, the mandatory placement of safety managers in the construction industry is currently limited to sites with construction costs of 8 billion won or more, but starting in July this year and July next year, this threshold will be lowered to 6 billion won and 5 billion won, respectively, leading to a steady increase in demand. As competition to recruit safety managers intensifies and their salaries rise, small and medium-sized enterprises with limited financial resources are struggling to hire them at all.

A government official stated, "We expect the shortage of safety managers to continue until next year, so we are preparing short-term solutions," and added, "Strengthening the qualification requirements for safety managers is a mid- to long-term initiative, and implementation is expected to take place in two to three years."