I want to avoid imprisonment for industrial safety act violation charges..

Hello. I am an industrial safety specialist attorney at Daeryun Law Firm.

In an industrial safety act violation (Occupational Safety and Health Act violation) case, just because a fatal accident occurred does not mean that imprisonment will immediately be sentenced.

For violation of safety obligations under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to result in criminal punishment, the mere existence of risk factors is insufficient. It must be recognized that the employer ordered work without taking safety measures, or that the employer left the situation unattended while being aware that safety measures were inadequate.

That is, not only the result of the accident but also the employer's awareness, scope of management, and specific work conditions at the site are judged together.

As in your situation, the fact that the structure in question was not equipment used regularly but merely a temporarily and provisionally installed facility, and that the work was carried out for a short period, can be important sentencing factors.

Additionally, whether a safety management system has been operated at the site on a regular basis, whether safety education or precautionary measures were taken before the accident, and whether responsibility was not avoided after the accident with immediate measures and reflection, are also factors comprehensively considered by the court.

In practice, in industrial safety act violation cases, the following factors serve as core criteria for determining the level of punishment.

(1) Whether the cause of the accident was due to the employer's direct instruction or neglect
(2) Whether it was a structural and ongoing risk, or an exceptional accident occurring in a temporary situation
(3) The extent to which the employer has exercised management and supervision to prevent accidents
(4) Whether there were efforts to recover damages and sincere reflection

Therefore, what is most important at this stage is not to defend on the premise that "a fatal accident occurred," but rather a strategic response that proves through specific facts that the violation of safety obligations does not constitute the employer's intent or neglect, and distinguishes the circumstances of the accident from the scope of responsibility.

Through this, there are many cases where the level of punishment was reduced to a fine sentence or suspended sentence rather than imprisonment.

The outcome of industrial safety act violation cases can vary greatly depending on the initial response and legal construction.

In particular, since this is a matter that can lead not only to the employer's personal criminal liability but also to future site operations, administrative dispositions, and additional civil liability, it is very important to organize the response direction with the help of an industrial safety specialist attorney who has handled many industrial safety cases from the early stages of investigation.

Rather than being preoccupied with the possibility of imprisonment alone, please remember that the realistic response direction is to accurately organize the legal issues and sentencing factors that can be disputed and to obtain leniency.