Labor Minister Kim Young-hoon, right, inspects a construction site in Seoul, Dec. 24, 2025. Courtesy of Ministry of Employment and Labor
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pressing ahead with a new industrial safety bill that would let regulators fine companies up to 5 percent of their annual operating profit when multiple workers die on the job, despite concerns from business groups.
Following the approval of the National Assembly’s Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee last week, the revision to the Occupational Safety and Health Act now heads to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee before a final floor vote. The bill, led by Rep. Kim Ju-young, would for the first to link financial penalties for repeated fatal accidents directly to profitability rather than flat fines.
If passed, the labor minister would be able to impose a penalty of up to 5 percent of a firm’s operating profit when three or more workers are killed in industrial accidents in a year and the employer is found to have violated key safety or health obligations. If operating profit is nonexistent, difficult to calculate or deemed too small, authorities could instead levy up to 3 billion won ($2.1 million).
“Under the current law, even when a fatal industrial accident occurs due to an employer’s or contractor’s violation of safety and health obligations, criminal proceedings take a long time and punishments often end in fines or suspended sentences, leading to criticism that the law is not functioning as an effective sanction,” the lawmakers said in the proposal. “For multiple or repeated fatal accidents, in particular, there is a need to strengthen companies’ implementation of safety investments and preventive measures through stronger economic sanctions.”
Labor groups largely agree. They believe that without sharper financial consequences, safety will remain a “secondary concern” for employers. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a powerful umbrella group with 1 million members, welcomed the move.
“It is meaningful in that it reflects the urgent demands from the shop floor,” a KCTU official told The Korea Times on Monday. “It is regrettable, however, that the unions’ right to stop work has not been included in the bill.”
By contrast, business groups are alarmed by the proposal. The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) said allowing surcharges of up to 5 percent of operating profit was “unrealistically high” and could lead to “astronomical costs” for conglomerates, while dealing a potentially crippling blow to small and medium‑sized firms in weak financial condition.
For example, a deadly accident at Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant in November 2024, in which three researchers suffocated during a vehicle performance test, would have exposed the company to an estimated 330 billion won in penalties under the new standard — roughly 600 times the 545 million won fine actually imposed at the time.
Speaking to The Korea Times, a senior KEF official said companies in high‑risk sectors like manufacturing, construction and shipbuilding have a “structural reality” in which the chance of accidents cannot be reduced to zero, even when they strengthen safety systems.
Source: Korea Times News
