South Korea Names 22 Firms Penalized for Serious Workplace Accidents

The South Korean government has publicly disclosed the names of 22 companies found guilty of serious industrial accidents, reinforcing its commitment to holding businesses accountable for workplace safety. The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) announced the list on March 31, as mandated by the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA).

SAPA, a landmark legislation implemented in 2022 to drastically reduce severe workplace injuries and fatalities, allows the MOEL to reveal specific details. These include the company name, accident date, location, cause, and the firm’s safety record over the past five years, once a judicial conviction related to a serious industrial accident has been finalized. This latest announcement targets companies where judgments were confirmed in the second half of 2025, continuing a semi-annual public disclosure initiative that began in September 2023.

The penalties imposed on the management of these 22 companies were significant. One business executive received actual imprisonment, while 22 others were handed suspended prison sentences. Another individual faced both a suspended prison sentence and a fine. Among the disclosed cases was a large company with annual sales of 159 billion Korean Won (approximately $117 million USD), which received a 2 billion Won fine (approximately $1.48 million USD) – the highest amount to date for a corporation under SAPA – due to repeated fatal accidents in 2021 and 2022 resulting from safety negligence. The responsible manager in this case was sentenced to two years in prison. Another tragic incident involved two young Vietnamese brothers, who had come to Korea seeking the “Korean Dream,” dying after being buried at a construction site where work proceeded without fundamental structural safety reviews despite changes in concrete pouring methods.

An analysis of all 44 workplaces publicly disclosed since SAPA’s enforcement revealed common safety violations. The most frequent breaches were inadequate checks and improvements for hazardous factors, accounting for 24% of violations, followed by insufficient measures to ensure diligent performance by safety and health managers, making up 22% of breaches. These findings highlight critical areas where companies often fall short in upholding their safety obligations.

Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Young-hoon emphasized the government’s resolve, stating, “We will impose strict investigations and economic sanctions on companies that neglect safety despite having sufficient capabilities, making them realize that safety is an investment, not a cost.” He also added that the ministry would provide “bold support” to smaller businesses to help them prevent industrial accidents, acknowledging the varying capacities among companies.

Source: 고용노동부 — Original Article (Korean)