You may need a consultation if
- A worker fell to their death at a construction site where you were the site manager
- An employee was badly injured when caught in factory equipment, and you, as the manager, were booked
- As CEO, you were contacted to come in for questioning over a Serious Accidents Punishment Act violation
- The accident involved a subcontractor's worker, but you were told the main contractor's manager is also responsible
- A customer was injured at a business such as a shop or private academy
Relevant Laws
Criminal Act (형법) Article 268 (Occupational or Gross Negligence Causing Death or Injury)
Causing death or injury to a person through occupational negligence or gross negligence is punished by imprisonment without labor for up to 5 years or a fine of up to KRW 20 million.
Occupational Safety and Health Act (산업안전보건법) Articles 167 and 173
Causing a worker's death by violating safety and health measure obligations, or a contractor's safety and health measure obligations, is punished by up to 7 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 100 million, and the corporation faces a fine of up to KRW 1 billion. A repeat offense within 5 years of the sentence becoming final is increased by up to one half.
Serious Accidents Punishment Act (중대재해 처벌 등에 관한 법률) Articles 6 and 7
If a death results from a violation of the duty to ensure safety and health, the business owner or management officer is punished by 1 year or more of imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 1 billion (both can be imposed); where, for example, one accident leaves two or more people injured and needing treatment for 6 months or more, by up to 7 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to KRW 100 million. The corporation faces fines of up to KRW 5 billion and KRW 1 billion respectively. It does not apply to workplaces with fewer than 5 regular workers (Article 3).
Statutes are summarized. The official Korean text is available at the Korea Law Information Center (law.go.kr).
First, sort out who is investigated under which law
People who directly managed the work, such as site managers or safety managers, are investigated as offenders for occupational negligence causing death or injury and Occupational Safety and Health Act violations, while the CEO or the executive in overall charge of safety and health is investigated as a management officer under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. The corporation is subject to fines under the joint penalty provisions.
Occupational negligence causing death or injury is often investigated by the police, while the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act are investigated by labor inspectors, so you may have to appear before both agencies over the same accident. The company should first organize the facts so that statements to the two agencies don't conflict.
The duty of care and causation are the issues
Occupational negligence is judged by whether you exercised the care required of someone doing that work, and whether you could have foreseen and avoided the result. Even if the worker was also careless, a manager can be held liable for knowingly leaving a hazard in place; if all necessary measures were taken and an unforeseeable action was the cause, there is room to dispute it.
In Serious Accidents Punishment Act cases, the question is whether the safety and health management system existed only on paper or actually worked. Whether risk assessments, budget spending, site inspections and improvement reports were carried out before the accident is the key material.
What to do right after an accident
Preserve the scene and secure, as they are, the work logs, pre-work safety check records, training records and records of protective equipment issued. Altering documents or creating new ones after the accident raises suspicion of destroying evidence and actually works against you.
If the accident is serious, the company and the site may be searched. Check the scope of the warrant to see which materials are subject to seizure, and keep copies of materials essential to your work.
Relations with the bereaved family and victims
Making up for the harm and the bereaved family's wish not to punish weigh heavily in the decision and sentence. Industrial accident compensation and the company's liability for damages proceed separately, and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act provides for liability of up to 5 times the damages where obligations were violated intentionally or through gross negligence (Article 15).
Factors That Affect the Outcome and Sentence
Factors that work against you
- · The same hazard had been pointed out before but was not fixed
- · Basic safety facilities (railings, covers, guards) were missing
- · Altered records or coordinated statements after the accident
- · A previous record of violating the same law
Factors that work in your favor
- · Risk assessments and improvements were actually carried out before the accident
- · A worker's unforeseeable departure from procedures
- · A settlement with the bereaved family or victims and making up for the harm
- · Measures to prevent a recurrence implemented after the accident
How Jisan Law's Criminal Law Center Responds
- 1
Initial consultation and separating roles
We set out separately the positions and issues of the company, the site manager and top management.
- 2
Attending searches and seizures
If a search takes place, we attend, check the scope of the warrant and put our objections on record.
- 3
Organizing materials
We put records of pre-accident safety measures and the reporting system in time order and turn them into evidence.
- 4
Mock questioning and sitting in
We practice with likely questions for both the police and labor inspector questioning, and go in with you.
- 5
Written opinion and sentencing materials
We submit a written opinion disputing whether the duty of care was breached and causation, and prepare materials on making up for the harm.
Lawyers handling these cases
Hansol Kim Managing Partner
Former prosecutor at the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, the Ansan Branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office and the Hongseong Branch of the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office
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Bonwoo Koo Managing Partner
Economic criminal cases such as Capital Markets Act violations, investment fraud, embezzlement and breach of trust
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Frequently asked questions
I'm the CEO. Can I be punished even though I wasn't at the site?
The Serious Accidents Punishment Act looks not at whether you were at the site but at whether, as a management officer, you fulfilled your duty to build and run a safety and health management system. A causal link between the breach of duty and the accident must also be proven separately.
Am I responsible even if the accident was caused by the employee's own carelessness?
A worker's fault does not automatically remove the manager's responsibility. The standard is whether the manager could have known of the hazard and whether steps were taken to prevent it.
Does the Serious Accidents Punishment Act apply to a shop with 4 employees?
The provisions on serious industrial accidents in the Serious Accidents Punishment Act do not apply to business owners and management officers of workplaces with fewer than 5 regular workers. However, occupational negligence causing death or injury and the Occupational Safety and Health Act can be at issue regardless of workplace size.