Three years have passed since the Severe Accident Punishment Act was enacted, but industrial accidents remain prevalent. The National Assembly Research Service noted that "due to the lack of will among law enforcers and inadequate regulations, the law is not functioning as intended."
The National Assembly Research Service announced the results of a comprehensive investigation into violations of the Severe Accident Punishment Act on the 28th, coinciding with its third anniversary. The Severe Accident Punishment Act imposes criminal penalties on managers who fail to fulfill safety obligations when a serious accident occurs at business sites.
Initially, there were expectations that industrial accidents would decrease with the implementation of the law, but even after three years, they have not declined. According to the Legislative Research Service, the number of industrial accident fatalities increased slightly from 2,080 in 2021 to 2,098 in 2024. The number of injured also grew from 122,713 during the same period to 142,771.
The Legislative Research Service attributed the lack of decrease in industrial accidents to the Severe Accident Punishment Act failing to function properly. In a comprehensive investigation of 1,252 serious accident cases under investigation, it was found that 73.2%, or 917 cases, are still "under investigation." Among the cases that had concluded investigations, 50% reported by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and 56.8% from the prosecution took more than six months to process.
The acquittal rate in cases related to the Severe Accident Punishment Act has also significantly increased. The acquittal rate is 10.7%, over three times the general criminal case acquittal rate of 3.1%.
The penalties remain lenient. The probation rate for the Severe Accident Punishment Act is 85.7%, which is 2.3 times higher than the 36.5% probation rate for general criminal cases. Among the 47 cases that resulted in prison sentences, the average sentence was 1 year and 1 month, just at the legal minimum threshold of over 1 year. Most of these also received probation.
The Legislative Research Service analysis indicates that the fines are excessively low. Among the 50 corporations fined for violating the Severe Accident Punishment Act, excluding one exceptional case with a fine of 2 billion won, the average fine for the remaining 49 cases was only 72.8 million won. In contrast, the average fine for guilty cases under the United Kingdom's Corporate Manslaughter Act, which served as the basis for the Severe Accident Punishment Act, is 412,509 pounds (about 774.98 million won).
The Legislative Research Service stated that to achieve the legislative intent of preventing industrial accidents, proper sentencing guidelines should be established, and a 'Joint Investigative Team for the Severe Accident Punishment Act' must be created for collaboration between the prosecution, police, and Ministry of Employment and Labor to ensure swift case processing. It also suggested alternatives such as qualitative and quantitative expansion of industrial safety and health inspectors, economic sanctions tied to profit margins, and the introduction of incentives based on market logic.
After the transition, Legislative Research Service Director Lee Gwan-hu stated, "There have been ongoing criticisms about the vagueness of the enforcement regulations, but no proper measures have been taken, and despite three years since implementation, sentencing guidelines have not been established." He emphasized the need for the Joint Investigative Team to resolve over 900 ongoing investigations, stating, "Currently, the Ministry of Employment and Labor is conducting investigations, while the decision to prosecute is determined by the prosecution, which has often led to a lack of collaboration until prosecution occurs and many cases confirm the lack of investigative will.