There is an obligation to ensure safety and health that must be observed by individual business or business owners or management managers of corporations or institutions, and the law stipulates management measures necessary to establish and operate a safety and health management system and fulfill obligations in accordance with safety and health-related laws.
In particular, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which prevents industrial accidents by establishing standards for industrial safety and health at a business or workplace and clarifying the location of responsibility, stipulates specific safety and health standards for workplaces, the employer's obligation to take action accordingly, and the person responsible for preventing industrial accidents at the workplace.
If a worker dies due to failure to take safety measures under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, not only the employer but also the site manager who caused the worker's death will be punished.
Although the site manager has a duty of care to prevent accidents from occurring, he or she neglects this duty, resulting in death or injury to workers, and is subject to punishment under criminal law for occupational negligence causing injury.
For example, if an accident resulting in death or injury occurs at a construction site, the subcontractor's employer or manager is liable under criminal law, and managers who have a duty to ensure safety at the site, such as the site manager, are also responsible under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and criminal law.
In fact, industrial sites are bound to have various factors that can lead to accidents due to the nature of the site, in addition to insufficient obligations to ensure safety and health. Therefore, the purpose of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the establishment of punishment targets is to prevent accidents in advance.
Jihye Kwon, lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm (Limited), advised, “All personnel at industrial sites, including business managers as well as site managers, must not neglect their duty of care for safety and health to prevent worker accidents from occurring.” She also advised, “If an accident has already occurred at the site, the case should be carefully reviewed by a lawyer specializing in industrial accidents and labor, and legal action should be taken against the application of occupational negligence and malpractice.”
View full article - In case of a labor-related industrial accident in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the responsible manager is punished for occupational negligence.
