□ The Act was enacted after the deaths by asphyxiation due to an argon gas leak in a shipyard in 2017, the death by crushing at the Taean Thermal Power Plant in 2018, and the fire at a warehouse construction site in 2020, and it will enter into force in a month.

* The Act will take effect on January 27, 2022. It will apply to businesses with fewer than 50 regular employees and construction projects with costs less than KRW 5 billion from January 27, 2024 and it does not apply to businesses with under five employees.

○ In 2020, a total of 2,062 workers died due to work-related accidents or diseases and the accident death toll was 822. The Act punishes employers and chief executives of businesses where fatal accidents happened to help hold them accountable.

○ Many businesses are making efforts to build a systemic occupational safety and health system before the Act takes effect. However, there have been difficulties establishing specific measures to help prevent industrial accidents in the Act and its enforcement decree.

○ When considering that 63% (1,303 out of the 2,062 deaths) of the occupational fatalities in 2020 were from businesses with fewer than 50 employees, it has been claimed that we need to provide support for building an occupational safety and health management system in small businesses.

□ Accordingly, the ESLC is planning to look into how businesses are preparing for the enforcement of the Act through social dialogue with the tripartite partners and experts in the Occupational Safety and Health Committee for the Prevention of Fatal Accidents. It is also seeking practical solutions that provide balance between the protection of the lives of workers and the safe management of businesses.

○ The main agenda items of the Committee are measures to increase the efficiency of projects for industrial accident prevention, strengthen the investigation of causes of fatal accidents, create a business environment inducing compliance with laws, improve laws and institutions, and expand the participation of workers and employers for building a safety culture in workplaces.

○ Members of the Committee include the chair, Seong-Kyu Kang (Dean of the School of Public Health, Gachon University), and 14 members (three members each representing workers, employers, and the government, and five expert members). The discussion period of the Committee is one year and it can be extended if necessary.

□ Chair Kang said, “The Committee is planning to focus its discussions on the prevention of industrial accidents and diseases and the establishment of measures to prevent fatal accidents in SMEs, which are vulnerable to occupational accidents. Based on our discussions, the Committee will attempt to fulfill the ultimate goal of the Act by making efforts to establish plans to effectively reduce occupational accidents and diseases.”

□ Sung-hyun Moon, Chairperson of the ESLC, said, “In order to prevent occupational accidents and diseases, the active participation of workers and employers is very important. I expect the Committee to lead workers and employers in businesses prone to industrial accidents, such as manufacturing and construction, to playing an active role in preventing accidents.”