Amendments to Industrial Safety and Health Act Passed, Expanding Workers' Right to Request Work Stoppages

A tripartite 'Safe Workplace Committee' for industrial accident prevention will be established within the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The scope of workers’ rights to request work stoppages will be expanded. In addition, if there are repeated worker fatalities, the Minister of Employment and Labor will be able to request the cancellation of the company’s business registration.

On October 1, the National Assembly plenary session passed amendments to the Industrial Safety and Health Act under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, reflecting these changes. The government’s main tasks in its comprehensive occupational safety measures, announced in September last year, such as expanding the roles of labor and management in industrial accident prevention, have now been legislated.

Under the amendments, the Ministry of Employment and Labor will newly establish the 'Safe Workplace Committee', which will consist of up to 20 representatives from labor, management, government, and experts (to take effect three months after promulgation). The committee will deliberate on major safety and health policies, including establishing the basic plan for industrial accident prevention, and serve as a continuous communication channel between workplace stakeholders. Alongside this, a 'whistleblower reward system' will be introduced, offering rewards to those who report violations of laws and regulations.

The work stoppage system will also be extensively revamped to enhance on-site workers’ safety rights (to take effect six months after promulgation). Not only in cases of ‘imminent danger’ but also when there is ‘a concern of risk’, workers, employee representatives, or honorary industrial safety supervisors will be able to request a work stoppage from employers. Subcontracted workers will also be enabled to directly request work stoppages from principal employers. The conditions under which the Minister of Employment and Labor can order a work stoppage will be expanded from 'serious industrial accident occurrence' to include cases where workers are 'in a state of unconsciousness or unknown life status due to injury'; additionally, employers who do not implement corrective measures will be banned from resuming work.

Sanctions on workplaces with multiple or repeated fatalities will be strengthened. If three or more deaths occur within a year due to violations of safety and health obligations, a penalty surcharge of up to 5% of business profits will be imposed on the employer, and this will be reinvested in industrial accident prevention. Furthermore, if an industrial accident resulting in the simultaneous death of two or more employees occurs again at a business that has already been suspended more than twice within three years, grounds will be established for the Minister of Employment and Labor to request the relevant administrative agency to cancel or revoke the business’s registration.

Measures have also been included to better address real conditions at worksites. 'Heat waves and cold waves' will be explicitly stipulated as grounds for extending construction periods (effective from the date of promulgation), and the obligation to account for industrial safety and health management costs will be gradually expanded from construction project clients to contractors and other industries. In addition, an exemption from safety certification for machinery and devices imported for export purposes will be implemented immediately, aiming to reduce the administrative burden on companies.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon said, “Everyone who works has the right to work safely, and it is the most basic and important duty of the government to ensure that no one is injured or killed while working to make a living.” He added, “We will do our utmost to ensure these new systems and subordinate regulations are firmly established at worksites.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.