ENFORCEMENT DECREE OF THE SERIOUS ACCIDENTS PUNISHMENT ACT

Article 1(Purpose) #

The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe matters mandated by the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and those necessary for the enforcement thereof.

Article 2(Persons with occupational diseases) #

"Persons with occupational diseases prescribed by Presidential Decree" in subparagraph 2c of Article 2 of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Act") means persons who have developed any of the occupational diseases specified in Appendix 1.

Article 3(Public-use facilities) #

"Facility prescribed by Presidential Decree" in the main clause, with the exception of the items, of subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Act means any of the following: <Amended on Aug. 26, 2025>

1. Facilities specified in Appendix 2 among those under subparagraph 4a of Article 2 of the Act;

2. Establishments specified in Appendix 3 among those under subparagraph 4b of Article 2 of the Act; provided, the following buildings shall be excluded herefrom:

a. Buildings in which housing and facilities other than housing are constructed in the same building;

b. Buildings, the main use of which is an officetel under subparagraph 14b2) of Appendix 1 of the Enforcement Decree of the Building Act;

3. Places of business under subparagraph 4c of Article 2 of the Act;

4. The following facilities among those under subparagraph 4d of Article 2 of the Act (excluding establishments under subparagraph 2):

a. Road bridges for which 10 years have passed since completion of the construction work, among those with a length of at least 20 meters installed on roads specified in the subparagraphs of Article 10 of the Road Act;

b. Road tunnels in local highways, Si roads, Gun roads, and Gu roads specified in subparagraphs 4 through 7 of Article 10 of the Road Act and road tunnels for which 10 years have passed since completion of the construction work, among those specified in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Maintenance and Improvement of Road Networks in Agricultural and Fishing Villages;

c. Railroad bridges for which 10 years have passed since completion of the construction work, among railroad facilities specified in subparagraph 2 of Article 3 of the Framework Act on Railroad Industry Development;

d. Railroad tunnels for which 10 years have passed since completion of the construction work (limited to those located in areas other than the Special Metropolitan City or a Metropolitan City), among railroad facilities specified in subparagraph 2 of Article 3 of the Framework Act on Railroad Industry Development;

e. Any of the following facilities with an individual place of business of at least 2,000 square meters:

1) Gas stations defined in subparagraph 3 of Article 2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Petroleum and Alternative Fuel Business Act;

Article 4(Measures for establishment of safety and health management system and implementation thereof) #

Details of the measures under Article 4(1)1 of the Act shall be as follows:

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall establish objectives and managerial policies on safety and health at the relevant business or place of business;

2. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall have an organization exclusively responsible for the overall control and management of affairs concerning safety and health for the relevant business or place of business required to have at least three personnel under Articles 17 through 19 and 22 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and falling under any of the following, in which cases if a constructor who did not fall under item b falls under item b, such constructor shall have the relevant organization by no later than January 1 of the year following the year in which it was publicly notified:

a. A business or place of business with at least 500 full-time employees;

b. A constructor who ranks 200th or higher in the execution capacity appraisal publicly notified pursuant to Article 23 of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry for civil engineering and construction business under Article 8 of the same Act and Appendix 1 of its Enforcement Decree;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall establish work procedures for identifying and improving hazardous or risk factors varying on the characteristics of the relevant business or place of business; and take necessary measures after conducting an inspection at least once every half year to determine whether hazardous or risk factors are identified and improvement is made in compliance with the relevant work procedures; provided, where a business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. has established procedures for risk assessment pursuant to Article 36 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and either conducts the risk assessment directly or requires a risk assessment to be conducted and receives a report of results of the assessment, in accordance with the relevant procedures; the identification and improvement of hazardous or risk factors shall be deemed inspected in accordance with the relevant procedures;

4. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall set a budget necessary for implementing the following and spend such budget for the purpose for which it is set:

a. Preparation of human resources, facilities, and equipment for safety and health required for accident prevention;

Article 5(Managerial measures necessary to perform duties under safety and health-related statutes or regulations) #

(1) "Safety and health-related statutes or regulations" in Article 4(1)4 of the Act means statutes or regulations applicable to the relevant business or place of business and related to securing the safety and health of workers.

(2) Details of the measures under Article 4(1)4 of the Act shall be as follows:

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once every half year to determine whether the duties under health and safety-related statutes or regulations have been performed (including inspections that are entrusted to institutions, etc. designated by the heads of central administrative agencies under such health and safety-related statutes or regulations; hereafter in this subparagraph, the same shall apply); and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

2. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 1 finds that the duties under safety and health-related statutes or regulations have not been performed, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall take measures necessary to perform such duties, including assigning personnel or setting and spending additional budgets;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once every half year to determine whether compulsory safety and health education programs in relation to hazardous and risky work under safety and health-related statutes or regulations have been provided; and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

4. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 3 finds that education programs have not been provided, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall, without delay, take measures necessary for education, such as ordering to provide such education programs and securing budgets.

Article 6(Providing safety and health education programs) #

(1) Safety and health education programs under Article 8(1) of the Act (hereinafter referred to as "safety and health education programs") shall be completed within 20 hours in total, as prescribed by the Minister of Employment and Labor.

(2) Safety and health education programs shall include the following:

1. Management plans on safety and health, including establishment of a safety and health management system;

2. Analysis of causes of serious industrial accidents and measures to prevent recurrence thereof.

(3) The Minister of Employment and Labor may request the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency established under the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Act or a safety and health educational institution registered under Article 33 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (hereinafter referred to as "safety and health educational institution, etc.") to provide safety and health education programs.

(4) For corporations or institutions that have caused a serious industrial accident, the Minister of Employment and Labor shall determine on a quarterly basis persons required to receive safety and health education programs, and shall notify the persons required to receive such education programs of the following no later than 30 days prior to the date the education programs are provided:

1. Safety and health educational institutions, etc. which provide safety and health education programs;

2. Education schedule;

3. Other matters necessary to provide safety and health education programs.

(5) Upon receipt of a notification under paragraph (4), if a person required to receive safety and health education programs has good cause for not participating in the scheduled education programs, he or she may request the Minister of Employment and Labor to postpone the education programs only once no later than seven days before the date the education programs are provided.

(6) The Minister of Employment and Labor shall notify the relevant person required to receive safety and health education programs as to whether postponement is possible within three days from the date of receipt of a request for postponement under paragraph (5).

(7) Where safety and health education programs are postponed, paragraph (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis to notification of the education schedule, etc.

Article 7(Criteria for imposition of administrative fines) #

The criteria for imposition of administrative fines under Article 8(2) of the Act shall be as specified in Appendix 4.

Article 8(Establishment of and implementation measures for safety and health management systems related to raw materials and products) #

Details of the measures under Article 9(1)1 of the Act shall be as follows: <Amended on Oct. 1, 2025>

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall have the necessary human resources for performing the following to conduct the affairs for preventing serious civic accidents:

a. To conduct affairs related to safety and health management in accordance with safety and health-related statutes or regulations under Article 9(1)4 of the Act;

b. To inspect hazardous and risk factors and respond to the signals of risk;

c. Other matters determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment for the relevant safety and health management related to raw materials and products;

2. A business owner or a responsible managing officer etc. shall set and spend a budget necessary to perform the following:

a. To secure and maintain human resources, facilities, equipment, etc. under safety and health-related statutes or regulations under Article 9(1)4 of the Act;

b. To inspect hazardous and risk factors and respond to the signals of risk;

c. Other matters determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment for the relevant safety and health management related to raw materials and products;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer etc. shall take the following measures to prevent serious civic accidents caused by raw materials or products specified in Appendix 5:

a. To conduct a periodic inspection of hazardous and risk factors;

b. To file a report on, and take measures against, any risk of a serious civic accident that is found from the verification of the hazardous or risk factors discovered through the receipt of information or the detection of signals of any risk, etc.;

c. To give a report, file a report, and take measures in cases of serious civic accidents;

d. To take measures for improvement following an investigation into the causes of serious civic accidents;

4. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall establish procedures for handling business affairs including measures under the items of subparagraph 3; provided, in cases of micro enterprises defined in Article 2 of the Framework Act on Micro Enterprises shall be excluded herefrom;

Article 9(Managerial measures necessary for fulfillment of obligations under safety and health-related statutes or regulations related to raw materials and products) #

(1) "Safety and health-related statutes or regulations" in Article 9(1)4 of the Act means statutes or regulations applicable to raw materials or products being produced, manufactured, sold, or distributed at the relevant business or place of business, which are related to preventing such raw materials or products from turning into hazardous and risk factors that may affect human life and body and to controlling them safely.

(2) Details of the measures under Article 9(1)4 shall be as follows:

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once every half year to determine whether the duties under health and safety-related statutes or regulations have been performed (including inspections that are entrusted to institutions, etc. designated by the heads of central administrative agencies under such health and safety-related statutes or regulations; hereafter in this subparagraph, the same shall apply); and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

2. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 1 finds that the duties under safety and health-related statutes or regulations have not been performed, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall take measures necessary to perform such duties, including assigning personnel or setting and spending additional budgets;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once every half year to determine whether a compulsory education programs under safety and health-related statutes or regulations have been provided; and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

4. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 3 finds that education programs have not been provided, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall, without delay, take measures necessary for education, such as ordering to provide such education programs and securing budgets.

Article 10(Establishment of, and implementation measures for, safety and health management systems related to public-use facilities and public transportation vehicles) #

Details of the measures under Article 9(2)1 of the Act shall be as follows:

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall have the necessary human resources for performing the following to conduct the affairs for preventing serious civic accidents:

a. To conduct affairs related to safety management in accordance with safety and health-related statutes or regulations under Article 9(2)4 of the Act;

b. To implement safety plans formulated pursuant to subparagraph 4;

c. Other matters determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport concerning the safety of public-use facilities or public transportation vehicles and their users or other people;

2. A business owner or a responsible managing officer etc. shall set and spend a budget necessary to perform the following:

a. To secure and maintain human resources, facilities, equipment, etc. and to conduct safety inspections, etc. in accordance with safety and health-related statutes or regulations under Article 9(2)4 of the Act;

b. To implement safety plans formulated pursuant to subparagraph 4;

c. Other matters determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport concerning the safety of public-use facilities or public transportation vehicles and their users or other people;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall plan and conduct a safety inspection, etc. in accordance with safety and health-related statutes or regulations under Article 9(2)4 of the Act for public-use facilities or public transportation vehicles;

4. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall have a safety plan containing the following formulated at least once a year on public-use facilities or public transportation vehicles and have such plan faithfully implemented; provided, where a safety and maintenance plan for establishments under Article 6 of the Special Act on the Safety Control and Maintenance of Establishments is formulated or implemented for public-use facilities, or a railroad carrier implements an annual implementation plan under Article 6 of the Railroad Safety Act for public-use facilities or public transportation vehicles; and then the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. directly verifies, or receives a report on, whether the plan is formulated and the details of the plan, a safety plan shall be deemed formulated and implemented:

Article 11(Managerial measures necessary to perform duties under safety and health-related statutes or regulations related to public-use facilities and public transportation vehicles) #

(1) "Safety and health-related statutes or regulations" in Article 9(2)4 of the Act means statutes or regulations applicable to the relevant public-use facilities and public transportation vehicles and related to securing the safety and health of their users and other people.

(2) Details of the measures under Article 9(2)4 of the Act shall be as follows:

1. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once a year to determine whether the duties under health and safety-related statutes or regulations have been performed (including inspections that are entrusted to institutions, etc. designated by the heads of central administrative agencies under such health and safety-related statutes or regulations; hereafter in this subparagraph, the same shall apply); and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

2. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 1 finds that the duties under safety and health-related statutes or regulations have not been performed, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall take measures necessary to perform such duties, including assigning personnel or setting and spending additional budgets;

3. A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. shall conduct an inspection at least once a year to determine whether a safety manager of public-use facilities or a worker responsible for maintenance and inspection of facilities and equipment of public transportation vehicles has completed compulsory education programs under safety and health-related statutes or regulations; and when not directly conducting an inspection, he or she shall receive a report on the result of the inspection, without delay, after the inspection is completed;

4. Where the inspection or report under subparagraph 3 finds that education programs have not been provided, the relevant business owner or responsible managing officer, etc. shall, without delay, take measures necessary for education, such as ordering to provide such education programs.

Article 12(Publication of occurrence of serious industrial accidents) #

(1) The publication under Article 13(1) of the Act (hereafter in this Article referred to as "publication") shall be made for the place of business for which the sentence of a punishment becomes final and conclusive and is notified pursuant to Article 12 of the Act due to a serious industrial accident caused by a violation of the duty under Article 4 of the Act.

(2) Details of the publication shall be as follows:

1. Title of the publication, "Publication of occurrence of serious industrial accidents";

2. The name of the relevant place of business;

3. The date, time, and place of the occurrence of the serious industrial accident;

4. The number of people who have suffered the serious industrial accident;

5. The details and causes of the serious industrial accident (including violations committed by the business owner or the responsible managing officer, etc.);

6. Whether a serious industrial accident has occurred in the relevant place of business within the most recent five years.

(3) Before making the publication, the Minister of Employment and Labor shall notify the business owner or the responsible managing officer, etc. of the relevant place of business of the details to be published; and shall request such owner or officer, etc. to submit explanatory materials or shall give an opportunity to state his or her opinions during a fixed period of at least 30 days.

(4) The publication shall be posted in the Official Gazette, or on the website of the Ministry of Employment and Labor or of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency established under the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Act.

(5) Where the publication is posted on the website pursuant to paragraph (4), the period of publication shall be one year.

Article 13(Record keeping of matters concerning implementation of measures) #

A business owner or a responsible managing officer, etc. (excluding micro enterprises defined in Article 2 of the Framework Act on Micro Enterprises) shall record matters concerning the implementation of measures, etc. under Articles 4,5, and 8 through 11 (including electronic documents defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on Electronic Documents and Transactions) and shall keep the record for five years from the date such measures, etc. are taken.