"8 Months Since Serious Accident Punishment Act Enforcement, No Reduction Effect... Law and System Need Reorganization"

KCCI Hosts 'Serious Accident Prevention Industrial Safety Forum'

Lee Dong-geun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, is speaking. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] As the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAP Act) enters its eighth month of enforcement, claims have emerged that there has been no clear reduction effect yet. Voices are calling for the law and system to be reorganized by reflecting the voices from the field to achieve substantial accident reduction.

The Korea Employers Federation held the 5th 'Serious Accident Prevention Industrial Safety Forum' on the 22nd at the Press Center, with safety executives from 23 major companies across industries and the Ministry of Employment and Labor participating. The forum operates with the purposes of ▲establishing an industry-wide joint response system to the SAP Act ▲preparing policy alternatives for serious accident prevention and strengthening the safety and health information network among companies.

Lee Dong-geun, Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, said in his opening remarks, “It has been eight months since the SAP Act was enforced, but there has been no clear effect in reducing accidents yet,” adding, “Despite various efforts at workplaces to comply with the SAP Act, serious accidents have not decreased, which is truly regrettable.”

He continued, “The business community has continuously pointed out the limitations of legislative measures that only emphasize punishment of business owners and has raised the need for prevention-centered policy promotion,” emphasizing, “The excessive punishments and ambiguous regulations of the SAP Act must be amended as soon as possible, and effective preemptive prevention measures should be established.”

The new government is currently establishing a 'Serious Accident Reduction Roadmap' aimed at revising enforcement decrees to reduce uncertainties in the SAP Act and building a voluntary safety management system for companies. It is emphasized that policies reflecting the diverse voices from industrial sites must be created during this process.

Professor Kwon Hyuk-myeon of Yonsei University, co-chair of the forum, said, “Looking at other advanced countries’ cases, industrial accident reduction projects are not like short-distance sprints but more like marathons,” adding, “It is a very important role for the Korea Employers Federation to create a venue where various stakeholders can discuss diverse accident prevention measures.”

At the forum, LG Chem also presented an excellent case of safety and health activities for serious accident prevention. LG Chem, which gave the case presentation, explained that with the determination that there is no future without correcting environmental safety, it has laid the foundation to become a company strong in environmental safety through fundamental environmental safety system improvement activities initiated since 2020. Furthermore, it stated that it is establishing LG Chem’s own environmental safety ‘Global Standard’ by firmly adopting and practicing a mindset that prioritizes environmental safety in the continuous process of creating sustainable performance as a lasting company.

LG Chem added, “To establish a culture that prioritizes environmental safety, we declared a ‘CEO Policy Statement’ urging changes in employees’ awareness and an ‘Absolute Compliance Environmental Safety Rule’ that all members must follow,” and introduced, “We have developed and are operating specialized training courses to enhance leaders’ awareness and members’ capabilities.”