Industrial accidents that occur in the course of providing labor at industrial workplaces result not only in harm to the individuals who provide such labor, but also cause losses and damage to their counterparts as well as to society as a whole. Accor...
Industrial accidents that occur in the course of providing labor at industrial workplaces result not only in harm to the individuals who provide such labor, but also cause losses and damage to their counterparts as well as to society as a whole. Accordingly, the prevention of industrial accidents constitutes a national task. To this end, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) has been enacted and implemented as the fundamental legislation for the prevention of industrial accidents.
Through the comprehensive revision of the OSH Act in 2019, the scope of legal protection was expanded to include all persons who provide labor, and new provisions concerning protective measures for such persons were introduced. In addition, the Act underwent substantial amendments, including improvements to the sanction system designed to ensure compliance with obligations aimed at preventing industrial accidents.
However, despite the expansion of the protected class to “persons who provide labor,” the revision failed to correspondingly reform the identification of duty-bearing subjects. Instead, the duty-bearing subjects are separately prescribed in individual provisions depending on the protected persons, while the core obligations—namely, safety measures and health measures—are also regulated in a fragmented manner. As a result, doubts remain as to whether the current regulatory structure effectively ensures the practical prevention of industrial accidents. Furthermore, although the comprehensive revision increased existing penalty levels, it did not fundamentally reform the sanction system as an effective means of enforcing compliance with preventive obligations.
In particular, from the perspective of clarifying responsibility, it is of critical importance to determine who is obligated to implement the core duties of safety and health measures prescribed by the OSH Act and whether the current sanction system serves as an appropriate means of enforcing such duties. In order to effectively achieve the legislative purpose of preventing industrial accidents, it is therefore necessary to clearly define and strengthen both the duty-bearing subjects and their corresponding responsibilities under the OSH Act from the standpoint of accident prevention.
Accordingly, this study analyzes, through specific cases, the current duty-bearing structure and the issues associated with administrative criminal liability for violations of obligations, focusing on the core duties of safety and health measures and the sanctions designed to ensure their enforcement. Based on this analysis, the study proposes measures to improve the effectiveness of the OSH Act in preventing industrial accidents.
To secure practical effectiveness in preventing industrial accidents under the OSH Act, this study first argues that the concept of the primary duty-bearing subject, namely the employer, should be expanded. The obligation to implement core safety and health measures should be imposed on those who control and manage hazardous or dangerous factors. By clearly assigning safety and health obligations to those who benefit from business operations through the use of another’s labor and who induce, control, or manage the associated risks, the Act can more effectively clarify responsibility for protecting persons who provide labor, thereby enhancing the realization of its legislative purpose.
Second, in addition to clarifying duty-bearing subjects, the sanction system must be reformed to more effectively compel compliance. Violations of safety and health obligations, which directly affect the life, safety, and health of persons providing labor and may lead to industrial accidents, are currently subject to administrative criminal penalties. While the penalty levels for such violations have been continuously increased in response to rising industrial accidents—particularly fatal accidents—the deterrent effect of these sanctions has remained limited, as evidenced by persistent accident statistics.
Therefore, this study proposes a shift from the current criminal penalty-based system toward stronger economic sanctions as a more effective means of enforcing compliance. Specifically, it suggests converting violations of safety and health obligations into offenses subject to administrative fines. By enabling administrative authorities to impose immediate monetary sanctions, such a reform is expected to more effectively secure compliance with safety and health obligations and to contribute significantly to the practical realization of the OSH Act’s purpose of preventing industrial accidents.