I am in the position of a business owner. I have a question about the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Hello. Under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, when a serious industrial accident occurs, whether the business owner or the responsible manager is subject to criminal punishment, and the level of that punishment, is determined by whether they established a safety and health management system to prevent the accident and implemented it appropriately.

Under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, a business owner has the following obligations for on-site safety.

A business owner must faithfully fulfill obligations such as ▲securing personnel, budget, and organization for accident prevention, ▲identifying and improving hazardous and risk factors, ▲establishing and implementing a safety and health management system, and ▲listening to and acting on the opinions of workers.

In other words, punishment is not confirmed by the mere occurrence of an accident; rather, whether punishment is imposed and its level are determined by examining how well the obligations under the Act were fulfilled in advance.

Therefore, if it is objectively proven that the business owner took substantive measures, such as establishing a safety and health management system and conducting regular inspections and training, the possibility of a reduced sentence or of no punishment also remains open.

However, because disputes over the interpretation of the statute and over the facts are frequent in practice, it is advisable to respond with the assistance of an attorney who has expertise related to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act from an early stage.