Starting next month, companies with more than 500 employees and construction projects exceeding 120 billion won must publicly disclose their safety and health status annually. Employers who fail to conduct risk assessments or skip essential procedures, such as worker participation, will face fines of up to 10 million won.
The government approved these measures during a Cabinet meeting on July 21, as part of amendments to the Industrial Safety and Health Act. This revision follows a comprehensive workplace safety plan announced in September of last year.
The most significant change is the introduction of the safety disclosure system, which mandates that larger companies disclose their safety and health status annually. The amended regulations specify that this requirement applies to employers with more than 500 employees and construction firms with annual project values exceeding 120 billion won.
Disclosure items will include statistics on worker fatalities among subcontractors and accidents resulting in death on public construction projects. The safety disclosure system will take effect on August 1.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor believes that the introduction of the safety disclosure system will ensure workers' right to know and encourage companies to take proactive measures to prevent workplace accidents. By making safety and health information public, companies will be evaluated by the market, workers, and partner firms based on their safety management levels.
The system for appointing honorary industrial safety supervisors will also be strengthened. The amended regulations will require that a representative of the workers recommend someone from among the employees to serve as an honorary industrial safety supervisor.
The scope of eligible worker representatives for recommendations will expand from those in the existing industrial safety and health committee to include representatives from all workplaces. Additionally, user representatives in the industrial safety and health committee or those defined as users under the Labor Standards Act will be added to the reasons for dismissal.
New criteria for imposing fines for failing to conduct risk assessments have also been established. Employers who do not perform risk assessments will face fines of 5 million won for a first offense, 7 million won for a second offense, and 10 million won for subsequent violations. Fines will also be imposed for failing to involve workers or their representatives or for not sharing risk assessment results with workers, with penalties of 1.5 million won for a first offense, 3 million won for a second, and 5 million won for subsequent violations.
If employers fail to record and preserve risk assessment results, they will incur fines of 500,000 won for a first offense, 1.5 million won for a second, and 3 million won for subsequent violations. The fine criteria will apply to workplaces with 50 or more employees starting January 1 of next year, and to those with fewer than 50 employees starting January 1, 2028.
The scope of businesses required to establish and implement safety and health improvement plans will also be expanded. Companies that have experienced two or more industrial accidents due to fire, explosion, or collapse within the past year for failing to implement safety or health measures will be included. This aims to systematically encourage improvements in workplaces with repeated accidents to swiftly eliminate hazardous and risky factors.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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