Employment Minister: "Worker's Crushing Death in Busan Will Be Handled According to Serious Accidents Punishment Act"

First Law Applied to Companies with Fewer Than 50 Employees

On the morning of the 29th, Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, visited a Korean restaurant in Myeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, to provide guidance on the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for small and micro enterprises with five or more regular employees and to listen to their difficulties. The minister is inspecting the work environment together with the business owner. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

On the 31st, Lee Jeong-sik, Minister of Employment and Labor, stated regarding the worker fatality incident at a waste aluminum processing site in Busan, "This accident, which occurred at a company with fewer than 50 employees, will be promptly handled in accordance with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and its principles."

That morning, at a waste aluminum processing company located in Gijang-gun, Busan, a worker died after being caught between a grapple mast and a cargo loading box while unloading waste with a grapple crane. This business has 10 regular employees and is subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The minister also emphasized, "To minimize confusion and side effects at the site due to the expanded application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, it is urgent for companies with fewer than 50 employees to establish and implement a safety and health management system in advance and prevent accidents."

Enacted in January 2021, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act stipulates criminal penalties for business owners if workers are seriously injured or die due to major accidents at the workplace. From the 27th, the law has been expanded to apply to companies with fewer than 50 employees (5 to 49 employees).

The government had sought to postpone the expansion of the application for two more years, citing the burden and lack of preparation among small and micro enterprises, but the amendment failed to pass in the National Assembly plenary session, resulting in full enforcement.

The government plans to allocate available resources to enhance companies' safety management capabilities, starting with an "Industrial Safety Diagnosis" where all 837,000 companies with fewer than 50 employees will self-assess their safety and health management systems.