Lessons learned from the bridge collapse accident... “Safety is an investment, not a cost” [Daeryun’s Biz law forum]

Daebeop "Not only construction companies but also developers must be careful"
Preemptive action is required to avoid sanctions such as business suspension.

Recently, there was a disaster in which four people died and six were injured due to a bridge collapse at the Seoul Sejong Expressway new construction site. In the wake of this accident, which resulted in significant casualties, the call for safety to be viewed from the perspective of 'investment' rather than 'cost' is gaining momentum.

Safety issues at construction sites are important not only to the contractor (construction company) but also to the contractor (developer). The Serious Accident Punishment Act, which went into effect in 2022, stipulates that managers can be sentenced to more than one year in prison or fined up to 1 billion won for serious industrial accidents that occur due to failure to properly establish a safety and health management system. This means that a company's responsibility does not remain at the level of individual workers but can expand to the legal risks of management.

Safety and health responsibility, directly related to corporate survival

There was an important Supreme Court ruling in 2023 regarding the safety and health responsibilities of developers. The core of the precedent is that, in accordance with Article 63 of the revised Occupational Safety and Health Act, the developer must also bear the obligation to take safety and health measures for workers of related construction companies working at their workplace.

The court ruled that the scope of responsibility of the developer should not be limited to its contractual role but should be judged based on its actual control and management authority over the construction site. This suggests that safety responsibility may be extended to developers with substantial construction management capabilities and construction control.

When a serious accident occurs, in addition to criminal punishment under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, various sanctions are imposed, such as suspension of business, disadvantages in the preliminary screening (PQ) of public institution bid participation, and designation as a subject of special supervision by the Ministry of Employment and Labor. This is why faithfully carrying out safety and health responsibilities is directly related to the survival of a company. To avoid sanctions, it is essential to proactively establish a safety and health management system. A systematic approach and continuous improvement are needed, such as establishing safety and health policies led by management and properly implementing them in the field.

The main causes of serious accidents that occur at construction sites are not only human factors, but also material and system factors such as interference between construction types (types of construction), lack of construction capabilities, and poor safety inspection. To prevent this, safety management must be systematically operated, such as strengthening risk assessments for high-risk work, mandating safety training for each type of work, and implementing TBM (Tool-Box Meeting) for each work immediately before input.

CSOs cannot be all-purpose solvers

Recently, in order to reduce the legal responsibility of business owners and CEOs, an increasing number of companies are appointing Chief Safety Officers (CSOs) to have independent budget implementation and decision-making authority. However, appointing a CSO alone is not enough. To prevent accidents, it is even more important to provide a foundation for front-line employees and managers to implement safety and health measures.

Business owners should keep three main things in mind. First, from a legal perspective, it is necessary to establish a causal relationship (a legal relationship between a cause and a result, which is judged based on predictability and directness of the result). It must be possible to prove that the accident was unavoidable despite the implementation of sufficient safety and health measures. This is because the business owner cannot be held fully responsible. Second, close management must be carried out to prevent arbitrary work that is not directed by the supervisor from occurring at the construction site. Third, invest in creating a safe work environment. You can start with easy things, such as expanding rest facilities, zoning the yard, and preventing interference between preceding and following construction types.

Safety management is essential to realize sustainable management and fulfill social responsibility in the construction industry. Rather than considering a follow-up response after an accident has already occurred, it is better to seek advice from a lawyer in advance to minimize risks from the personnel deployment and management stage. This plays an important role in proactively responding not only to major disasters but also to various legal issues such as changes in contract contracts and increases or decreases in construction costs. Minimizing legal risks by creating a safe business environment will be a key strategy to ensure corporate sustainability.

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Lawyer Hyungjin Kim's column) Lessons from the bridge collapse accident... “Safety is an investment, not a cost” [Daeryun’s Biz law forum] (Shortcut)