Serious Accidents Punishment Act

Regulatory scrutiny on workplace safety and occupational safety is accelerating around the world, with global authorities mandating stricter monitoring of workplace hazards, fatal workplace accidents, and worker safety to protect employees. 

With the rise in occupational safety, employers are now accountable to conduct risk management assessments, report any industrial accident that occurs  at their sites, and implement safety measures for accident prevention. 

One law prioritizing workplace safety is South Korea’s Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA)In 2022, one of the most-asked-about changes in EHS regulations has been The Serious Accident Punishment Act (SAPA). Who is responsible for accidents that result in fatality or severe injury in a workplace? In South Korea, SAPA says more people than before.

The act expands the scope of accountability within a business – beyond the company itself to its business leaders and managers. But what does it actually mean in terms of actions businesses must take?  

This article provides a comprehensive overview of SAPA.

What does SAPA regulate?

In January 2021, the South Korean National Assembly enacted the Serious Accident (SAPA) to impose criminal liability on business owners, management personnel, or companies responsible for fatalities or severe injuries that occur within their places of business.

While SAPA is mainly applicable to accidents that occur in industrial settings, such as factories or construction sites, it can also be applied to office workers if death or severe injury is caused by overwork, electrical accident, or a fall. 

It’s contributing to the growing space of occupational health and safety expectations, expanding employer accountability through stricter enforcement and EHS regulations.

Under SAPA, business owners or responsible management personnel must:  

• Establish and implement health and safety management systems such as assigning responsible personnel and budget to prevent serious accidents  
• Establish and implement measures to prevent recurrence of serious accidents 
• Conduct management measures to fulfill the obligations under the applicable safety and health law and comply with government’s corrective orders 
• Routinely assess the effectiveness of the health and safety management system and whether the managers, employees, and contractors are complying with the safety measures for fatal workplace accidents

In addition to these obligations, SAPA lays out more specific requirements for businesses operating in South Korea — placing even more importance on the responsibility of accident prevention.

What are the prevention requirements under SAPA?

The Enforcement Ordinance of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act establishes specific duties to prevent serious industrial accidents and serious public accidents.  

The Enforcement Ordinance requires them to:

1. Establish goals and policies — and someone responsible to put them into place
2. Have response and post-accident plans in place
3. Assess whether these safety measures are followed
4. Implement further government requirements

More specifically, the Act mandates companies to conduct the following actions (among other obligations) to prevent serious industrial accidents:

• Establish health and safety-related goals and management policies for each facility
• Assign health and safety managers, as required under Industrial Safety and Health Act, or establish a health and safety group — if a company appointed more than three safety and health managers pursuant to Industrial Safety and Health Act or has more than 500 workers — to implement these goals and policies through safety inspections, workplace improvements, employee interviews, and other appropriate measure
• Establish immediate industrial accident response procedures such as suspension of operations, evacuation, reporting, and removal of risk factors and post-accident procedures to address relief or mediation measure
  
• Assess whether the health and safety management plan to protect employees and contractors is effective and whether the plan is followed on the worksite at least semi-annually
  
• Appoint personnel to carry out tasks to prevent serious public accidents and to comply with relevant safety and health laws, inspect risk factors, implement directions from relevant government authorities, and respond in case of signs of danger 

For businesses with 50 or more workers, SAPA came into effect on 27 January 2022. For businesses of all sizes, SAPA came into effect two years later, on 27 January 2024.

Risks of SAPA violation

Under SAPA, individuals, as well as whole companies, can be penalized for non-compliance.

Business owners or responsible management personnel may be subject to imprisonment of one year or more and/or a criminal fine of up to KRW 1 billion (approximately USD 870,000) for a serious accident that caused the death of one or more workers.

For other serious industrial accidents or serious public accidents that didn’t result in a death, businesses responsible may face imprisonment of up to seven years or a criminal fine of up to KRW 100 million (approximately USD 87,000).  

A corporate entity can also still be held liable, separate from its owners or executive, and may face up to KRW 5 billion (approximately USD 4,350,000) or up to KRW 1 billion (approximately USD 870,000) for accidents that caused a death, injury or illness, respectively.