CONTENTS
- 1. Environmental Crimes | Stronger Penalties and Expanding Corporate Risk
- - Explanation of the Concept of Environmental Crime
- - Main Obligations Borne by Companies
- 2. Environmental Crimes | Measures a Company Can Carry Out on Its Own
- - The Need to Re-examine the Legality of Prior Permits and Licenses
- 3. Environmental Crimes | Main Applicable Laws and the Structure of Corporate Punishment
- - Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Wastes Control Act
- - Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Clean Air Conservation Act
- - Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Chemical Substances Control Act
- 4. Environmental Crimes | Stage-by-Stage Response Strategy for Investigation and Administrative Dispositions
- - Strategic Support from Daeryun Law Firm's Environmental Specialist Attorneys
1. Environmental Crimes | Stronger Penalties and Expanding Corporate Risk
The National Assembly recently passed 14 statutes related to environmental offenses in a single legislative wave.
That package, which included the Special Act on the Improvement of Air Quality in Air Control Zones, the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act, the Clean Air Conservation Act, and the Indoor Air Quality Control Act, has increased the legal and administrative burden on businesses.
Through these amendments, the legal obligations that businesses must meet have been tightened not only for air, water, and soil pollution, but also across areas such as indoor air quality control, the achievement of carbon neutrality, and the development of eco-friendly technologies and industries.
In particular, now that a legal basis has been established for measures such as support for green-transition guarantee projects, strategic decision-making around ESG management and green-industry investment is likely to grow in importance.
Amid these legislative changes, a business that has confirmed a violation of environmental laws, or that suspects a possible regulatory violation, should pair the steps it can take on its own with professional legal advice, scaled to the seriousness of the matter, in order to reduce legal risk.
Building and running a system that lets the company respond proactively from within can serve as a mitigating factor in a later dispute, so an effective internal response plan should be put in place.
Explanation of the Concept of Environmental Crime
An environmental offense is a criminal act that, in violation of a law meant to protect the environment, causes environmental pollution or creates the risk of it.
In practice, environmental offenses tend to share the following features.
- Both intentional conduct and negligence are subject to punishment
- On-site personnel, the corporation, and its representative can all be punished
- Criminal punishment and administrative sanctions proceed at the same time
- Search and seizure and requests to submit materials are common during the investigation
Main Obligations Borne by Companies
At each site, a company carries a range of obligations, such as installing emission facilities, managing pollutants, treating waste, conducting environmental impact assessments, reporting greenhouse gas emissions, and managing soil and groundwater pollution.
A breach of these obligations may give rise to penalty surcharges, administrative dispositions, criminal punishment, and even civil liability for damages, so working-level staff at a site are well advised to carry out, each year, both inspections that remove environmental-offense risk and legal review.
2. Permit for water-pollutant emission facilities and compliance with effluent water-quality standards
3. Obligation to treat waste lawfully
4. Obligation to obtain permits and registration for hazardous-chemical handling facilities
5. Obligation to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
6. Obligation to comply with the emissions trading scheme
7. Obligation to self-measure, record, and retain data for wastewater and air emission facilities
8. Obligation to disclose environmental information and make ESG disclosures
9. Obligation to maintain and manage environmental facilities
10. Obligation to give immediate notice and cooperate in damage relief when environmental harm occurs
11. Obligation to recycle waste and implement the circular economy
12. Cooperation in environmental dispute prevention and damage-relief mediation procedures
13. Reporting of the installation of noise and vibration emission facilities and compliance with standards
14. Management of household chemical products and biocides
15. Reporting and implementation of corrective measures in the event of an environmental-law violation
2. Environmental Crimes | Measures a Company Can Carry Out on Its Own
Environmental-Offense Responses a Company Can Handle on Its Own
We recommend that businesses periodically review and audit their environmental compliance status.
A company should survey the regulated processes, facilities, and emission levels across its operations, including air, water, waste, chemical substances, soil, and noise and vibration, and confirm whether it is meeting the permit and reporting obligations that current law requires.
In particular, it helps to confirm in advance matters such as environmental impact assessment, compliance with emission limits, and any risk of unlawful or improper handling in the waste treatment process.
Internal regulations and the 🔗compliance manual also need to be kept current.
As statutes such as the Environmental Technology and Industry Support Act strengthen the development of environmental technology and support for green industries, companies should also organize response guidelines for each business division internally and share legal changes through training for working-level staff.
We recommend a compliance management system tied to mid- and long-term strategy, such as mandatory disclosure of ESG management reports, emissions trading, and the fulfillment of carbon-reduction obligations.
The Need to Re-examine the Legality of Prior Permits and Licenses
Re-examining the legality of existing permits and licenses also matters.
Statutes such as the Clean Air Conservation Act and the 🔗Wastes Control Act may impose administrative dispositions such as business suspension, penalty surcharges, and administrative fines alongside criminal punishment when a violation occurs. A company should therefore confirm whether the contents of its permits and reports match actual operations, whether amended reports were filed promptly when changes arose, and should correct any gaps without delay.
Designating an internal officer and setting up a prompt reporting system is also necessary.
So that causes can be identified quickly and damage limited if a pollution accident occurs, a company should assign dedicated personnel who can act immediately, arrange for cooperation among the relevant departments, and record and retain the fact of the accident and the course of its response. When a dispute over environmental legal affairs does arise, it can readily escalate into conflict with affected residents, local governments, and environmental groups.
A stakeholder response manual that covers advance briefing sessions, procedures for gathering residents' opinions, and a media response plan is advisable.
3. Environmental Crimes | Main Applicable Laws and the Structure of Corporate Punishment
The discussion that follows reviews the main statutes that apply to environmental offenses and the structure of corporate punishment.
Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Wastes Control Act
The Wastes Control Act is the statute most often at issue in corporate environmental offenses.
The main types of violations are as follows.
▶Unauthorized treatment of waste
▶Improper storage and transport of designated waste
▶Illegal landfilling and dumping of waste
▶False entry of treatment records
A violation may result in business suspension, a penalty surcharge, or even imprisonment, and in many cases the representative and the corporation are punished together.
A company should set up a treatment plan for each type of waste generated at its site and store, transport, and treat that waste lawfully.
The main matters to check are as follows.
▶Whether waste generation volumes and treatment plans have been set
▶Whether designated waste is stored, transported, and treated properly
▶Whether waste-treatment outsourcing contracts and treatment records are entered electronically
▶Whether the waste-treatment contractor is qualified and an outsourcing contract is in place
▶Whether mandatory requirements under the Wastes Control Act are being violated (illegal landfilling, illegal discharge, and similar)
Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Clean Air Conservation Act
The Clean Air Conservation Act is an environmental-offense statute under which a company's criminal liability can arise directly from the management of air-pollutant emissions.
The main types of violations are as follows.
▶Exceeding air-pollutant emission limits
▶Installing and operating emission facilities without a permit or report
▶Failing to install or operate prevention facilities
▶Manipulating or omitting self-measurement results
A violation may result in suspension of operations and a penalty surcharge, along with concurrent criminal punishment, and repeated violations may restrict operation of the site itself.
For that reason, a company must install and operate its air emission facilities and prevention facilities lawfully and keep meeting the statutory standards.
The main matters to check are as follows.
▶Whether permits for air emission facilities and amended reports have been completed
▶Whether prevention facilities are operating normally and are maintained and managed
▶Whether self-measurement and periodic inspections have been carried out and records retained
▶Whether emission limits and total-volume regulations are being met
▶Whether reporting and notification obligations under the Clean Air Conservation Act are being violated
Environmental Crimes Involving Violation of the Chemical Substances Control Act
The Chemical Substances Control Act aims to prevent accidents involving hazardous chemicals and to strengthen their management, and it carries some of the most severe environmental-offense penalties when a violation occurs.
The main types of violations are as follows.
▶Operating a hazardous-chemical handling business without a permit or registration
▶Violating the installation standards for handling facilities
▶Violating the management and storage standards for hazardous chemicals
▶Late reporting or failure to report after an accident occurs
In particular, where a chemical-substance accident occurs, it is likely to be treated as a serious environmental offense and to lead to a high penalty surcharge along with criminal punishment.
A company must keep a strict management system in place for the entire process of handling, storing, and transporting hazardous chemicals.
The main matters to check are as follows.
▶Whether hazardous-chemical business permit and reporting requirements have been met
▶Whether installation standards and periodic inspections for handling facilities have been carried out
▶Whether training for handling personnel and a safety management system are in place
▶Whether an accident response manual and an immediate reporting system have been prepared
▶Whether mandatory requirements under the Chemical Substances Control Act are being violated
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4. Environmental Crimes | Stage-by-Stage Response Strategy for Investigation and Administrative Dispositions
Environmental offenses are investigated by the special judicial police of the Ministry of Environment and local governments, and through direct investigation by the prosecution, and they generally involve search and seizure and the questioning of witnesses and suspects.
Because the direction of the initial statements and the materials submitted can shape the outcome of the case, assistance from an attorney early in the investigation can be of considerable value.
Alongside an environmental offense, a business suspension, penalty surcharge, or revocation of a permit may be imposed, and these can be contested through an administrative appeal or administrative litigation.
It helps to pursue the criminal response and the administrative response strategically and in parallel, rather than as separate tracks.
In particular, a company benefits from having an environmental-offense prevention system in place, such as the following, to limit serious legal risk.
▶Maintenance of waste, air, and chemical-substance management manuals
▶Designation of an internal officer and a reporting system
▶Preparation of an immediate-response protocol for accidents
Such a system is often weighed as a factor that can mitigate the actual level of punishment.
Strategic Support from Daeryun Law Firm's Environmental Specialist Attorneys
A company's own efforts go a long way toward preventing environmental-offense risk, yet internal measures alone rarely block regulatory risk completely.
Environmental laws are amended on short cycles and apply broadly, which makes the interpretation of their provisions complex.
In areas such as the management of air, water, soil, waste, and chemical substances, a single violation may give rise to administrative dispositions together with criminal liability and civil liability for damages at the same time, so the stakes are high and the legal interpretation and the procedures for consultation with relevant agencies grow demanding as well.
This work may involve consultation with regulatory agencies (the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Korea Environment Corporation, and others), the submission of supporting materials, the conveyance of opinions, and administrative litigation, so comprehensive legal support from an environmental attorney early on can serve as a safeguard that greatly reduces later costs.
Drawing on accumulated practical experience and close legal interpretation, the core value of an attorney's advice lies in accurately diagnosing the environmental legal risks that may arise in the client company's business area, preparing for them in advance, and managing them steadily through the post-incident stage.
This firm operates a task force made up of environmental attorneys with experience in environmental-offense investigation at the prosecution and experience at the Korea Environment Corporation, together with specialists in particular fields such as certified public accountants, certified tax accountants, and certified labor attorneys, and external expert advisers from the environmental industry, so that advice can be tailored to each company's circumstances.
If needed, please request a 🔗corporate attorney legal consultation appointment.
To make consultation easier for corporate clients, we offer video consultations and consultations on weekends and public holidays, which we ask you to keep in mind when arranging a meeting with us.
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