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Risk Assessment & Safety Management System

Office Risk Assessment in Korea: A Practical Checklist for Global HR and EHS
2026.10.15 15:21
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Risk Assessment · Safety Systems

Office Risk Assessment in Korea: A Practical Checklist for Global HR and EHS

Global office safety templates usually cover fire exits, cables and chairs. Korean rules add a few items they rarely include: indoor air reference values, protection for customer-facing staff, rest facilities, and since June 2026 specific evidence of worker participation and communication. This checklist is built for HR and EHS teams that run a Korean office from a regional or global seat.

Key takeaways
An office-only entity in Korea still has to carry out risk assessment under Article 36 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The office-only exemption in Schedule 1 of the Enforcement Decree removes the provisions on safety and health management structure, management regulations, training and some contractor duties, not Article 36. Since 1 June 2026 the Act and Enforcement Rule spell out worker participation, sharing the schedule and results with workers, and three-year retention of defined records. Administrative fines for these duties start on1 January 2027for entities with 50 or more regular workers and1 January 2028for smaller ones.

🧭 Where global office templates fall short in Korea

Most multinational office checklists are written around a generic hazard list. They are a good starting point, but a Korean inspection or an internal audit will look for a few items that are specific to Korean rules or practice.

Typical global template Korean-specific addition Reference
Workstation ergonomics self-assessment Screen at least 40 cm from the eyes, line of sight 10-15° below horizontal, adjustable desk and chair, glare control; identify roles with 4+ hours of concentrated keyboard work a day as potential burdening work VDT Guidelines Art. 6; OSH Standards Rule Art. 667, 657
Lighting adequate: yes/no Statutory minimum illuminance (150 lux for ordinary work) plus VDT guidance of 300-500 lux (dark screens) or 500-700 lux (bright screens) OSH Standards Rule Art. 8; VDT Guidelines Art. 7
HVAC maintained by landlord Office air reference values (e.g. CO2 1,000 ppm, PM2.5 50 µg/m³, formaldehyde 100 µg/m³; radon 148 Bq/m³ for basement offices) OSH Standards Rule Arts. 646-655; Office Air Quality Guidelines
Workplace violence policy Measures for customer-facing workers: posted or recorded notice against abusive language, a response manual, training, and temporary suspension or change of work when harm occurs OSH Act Art. 41; Enforcement Rule Art. 41
Break room (optional amenity) Rest facilities are required; entities with 20+ regular workers (or 10+ with certain roles such as call-centre or cleaning staff) must meet installation and management standards OSH Act Art. 128-2; Enforcement Decree Art. 96-2
Stress covered by wellbeing programme Job stress measures for high-stress work, such as evaluating stressors and allocating work and rest OSH Standards Rule Art. 669
Annual review by regional EHS Workers must take part, usually through a site walk; the workers' representative must be included on request OSH Act Art. 36(2)-(3); Enforcement Rule Art. 37-2

🆕 The 2026 timeline at a glance

Date What happens Reference
1 June 2026 Amended Article 36 in force: full cycle (identify, decide acceptability, set and implement improvements), worker and representative participation, communication to workers, record retention OSH Act Art. 36; Enforcement Rule Arts. 37-37-4
23 Sep 2026 Fully revised risk assessment guidelines pre-announced; current guidelines (Notice No. 2024-76) remain in force until a new notice is issued MOEL pre-announcement
1 Jan 2027 Fines apply to entities with 50+ regular workers: failure to assess KRW 5m / 7m / 10m; no worker participation or no communication KRW 1.5m / 3m / 5m; records not kept KRW 0.5m / 1.5m / 3m (1st / 2nd / 3rd+) Enforcement Decree Schedule 35
1 Jan 2028 Same fines apply to entities with fewer than 50 regular workers (size-based reductions apply) Enforcement Decree Schedule 35

There is no criminal penalty attached to Article 36 itself. For a Korean office with five or more workers, however, risk assessment records also serve as evidence for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act duty to identify and improve hazards and check the process at least every half year (Enforcement Decree Art. 4(3)), so the practical stakes are higher than the fine amounts suggest.

✅ The office checklist

Use the list below as a walk-through sheet. Mark each line as adequate, needs action or not applicable, and add an owner and a due date to anything that needs action. The evidence column is what you would want to show if asked.

Area What to check Evidence to keep
Floors, corridors, stairs Trailing cables, boxes in walkways, wet entrances on rainy days, stair lighting Walk-through sheet with photos
Storage and shelving Heavy boxes on top shelves, unsecured cabinets, staff standing on chairs Fix list with completion dates
Workstations Screen distance and height, adjustable chairs, glare, laptop-only users Workstation check results (aggregated)
High-volume data entry roles Concentrated keyboard and mouse work of 4+ hours a day Role list and ergonomic review
Lighting Measured or estimated illuminance at desks and in meeting rooms Lux readings or facility report
Air quality and ventilation Ventilation running, stuffy rooms, printer rooms, basement areas Building management data or measurements
Electrical and fire Daisy-chained power strips, personal heaters, blocked exits, extinguishers Facility inspection record
Pantry Hot water dispensers, wet floors, knives and glass Walk-through sheet
Manual handling Paper boxes, water bottles, deliveries; trolleys available Walk-through sheet
Customer-facing teams Notice against abusive language, response manual, escalation and pause rules Manual, training record, posted notice
Workload and hours Peak periods, overtime patterns, single-person roles, ability to take breaks Aggregated survey results, actions agreed
Rest facilities Available, usable, meeting standards if your headcount triggers them Facility description and check

👥 Participation and communication: what the new rules expect

  • Participation.The default method is a site walk with workers. Surveys and interviews can be added, or used instead only when a walk is not possible for a specific reason (Enforcement Rule Art. 37-2). A short walk per floor with one or two employees, plus a three-question survey to everyone, covers most offices.
  • Before the assessment.Tell workers when it will take place (Enforcement Rule Art. 37-3).
  • After the assessment.Share the hazards found, how risk was decided, the improvements planned and what was implemented, through training, a briefing, a posting, or written or electronic means (OSH Act Art. 36(4)).
  • Records.Keep the timing and person in charge, the workers and representative who took part, and the shared results for three years (Enforcement Rule Art. 37-4).

We found no provision in Article 36, the Enforcement Rule or the guidelines that requires records to be written in Korean. Because the point of the duty is that workers understand and take part, a Korean version of the notice and results is the safer practice for a Korean workforce, even if your master file is in English.

🗓️ Running it in four weeks

  1. Week 1:confirm scope (office-only or mixed site, contractors such as cleaning and security), appoint an owner, choose a method. The guidelines accept a checklist method or a three-level (high, medium, low) method, which suit most offices.
  2. Week 2:announce the schedule, run the floor walks with employees, send the short survey, collect accident and near-miss records.
  3. Week 3:decide risk levels, agree improvements with owners and dates, fix quick items immediately, and send landlord-related items to building management in writing.
  4. Week 4:share results with all staff in Korean, file the record set, and put the annual reassessment and change triggers (office move, refurbishment, reorganisation) in the calendar.

💬 How EAP supports employees and HR

In office surveys, the most frequent answers are often about workload, difficult customers and not being able to switch off, rather than trips and falls. Organisational fixes such as workload allocation and response manuals belong in the improvement plan. For the individual side, an Employee Assistance Programme gives employees a confidential place to talk. Keep EAP usage and counselling content separate from risk assessment records.

❓ FAQ

Our Korean entity has eight employees in a serviced office. Is a full assessment really needed?

The duty applies regardless of size. Under the guidelines, workplaces with fewer than five regular workers can skip the preparation step, and any small office can use a simple checklist or three-level method. What matters is participation, communication and three-year records.

Can our regional EHS team run the assessment remotely?

Regional teams can design the method and review results, but the Enforcement Rule expects workers to take part, normally through a site walk. Plan for someone on site in Korea to walk the office with employees.

Does the office air guideline mean we must measure air quality every year?

The OSH Standards Rule requires measurement and evaluation when necessary rather than on a fixed cycle. Building management data is often enough to start with; consider measuring where employees report stuffiness, headaches or odours, and in basement offices.

Is our global ISO 45001 assessment enough?

It can be the basis, provided the Korean entity's record shows worker participation through a site walk, communication of the schedule and results, and the items listed in Enforcement Rule Art. 37-4. Map those fields before relying on a global tool.

🔗 Related guides

👉 Next step

If your office assessment points to workload, customer pressure or stress, a confidential counselling channel helps employees while you work on the organisational fixes. Talk to us about EAP support for your Korean entity.

Contact us about EAP →

📚 Sources

This article is practical guidance for planning an office risk assessment in Korea and is not legal advice. The checklist is an example, not a statutory form. Fine amounts are those set for application from 1 January 2027 (1 January 2028 for entities with fewer than 50 regular workers), and the risk assessment guidelines are under revision, so confirm the final text before relying on details. Legal sources checked on 15 October 2026.
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Comments3
  • Unknown User3
    Good to know the fines start in 2027 for 50+ employees. The part about writing records in a language workers understand answered a question our HQ had.
  • Unknown User2
    Really useful timeline. Our regional team assumed the ISO 45001 assessment would cover Korea, so the FAQ on that was helpful.
  • Unknown User1
    The four-week plan is practical for a small entity like ours. We'll try the walk-through with employees in week 2.

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