Serious Accidents Punishment Act Response Checklist and Safety and Health Management System Guide

Responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is not merely about verifying punishment after an accident occurs, but is a prevention-oriented management activity that involves establishing a safety and health management system on a regular basis and checking its implementation.

Key Summary

item	Items to check by the person in charge
Law name	Act on the Punishment, etc. of Serious Accidents
Main purpose	Prevention of serious industrial and civil accidents, and strengthening of safety and health obligations for business owners and management
Subject to review for application	Check applicability primarily for workplaces with 5 or more regular employees
Core obligations	Establishment and implementation of safety and health management system, measures to prevent recurrence of accidents, and management of compliance with relevant laws and regulations
Key Inspection Items	Safety and health goals and management policies, organization, personnel, and budget, risk assessment, listening to employee opinions, management of contracting, services, and outsourcing, emergency response manuals
Practical Core	Management of actual implementation and inspection records, rather than document creation
Key Personnel	Executives, Safety and Health Officers, HR Managers, Supervisors, Site Managers
Supporting documents	Safety and health objectives, budget execution data, risk assessment forms, corrective action records, training materials, meeting minutes, checklists
caution	Punishment is not automatically imposed simply because a serious accident has occurred; instead, the violation of the duty to ensure safety and health and the causal relationship are reviewed together.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is not merely a law that prescribes punishment after an accident; rather, it requires employers and management to establish and actually operate a safety and health management system to prevent serious accidents. HR and safety and health managers must jointly review the applicability of the law, the reporting system to management, risk assessments, safety and health budgets, management of contracting, services, and outsourcing, and accident response manuals.

What is the Serious Accidents Punishment Act?

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act is a law that holds business owners or management responsible when serious industrial or civil accidents occur due to a violation of their duty to ensure safety and health. In this article, [the topics] frequently checked by corporate HR and safety and health managers Major Industrial Accidents and Safety and Health Management System We will organize it centering on...

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, a serious industrial accident refers to an accident that meets certain criteria, such as the occurrence of a fatality, injuries requiring treatment for a certain period, or occupational diseases caused by the same hazardous factor.

The key to responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is not merely verifying “how punishment is imposed if an accident occurs.” What is more important is establishing a system that can explain whether our organization identified risk factors, made improvements, designated personnel, executed budgets, listened to employee opinions, and managed contracted, outsourced, and subcontracted work even before the accident occurred.

division	explanation
serious accidents	A concept including major industrial accidents and major civil accidents
Major industrial accidents	Industrial accidents that meet certain criteria, such as death, serious injury, or occupational disease
Obligation to ensure safety and health	Obligations that business owners or management executives must fulfill to prevent accidents
Safety and Health Management System	A management system for identifying risk factors, improving, budgeting, managing personnel, operating procedures, conducting inspections, and maintaining records.

Therefore, responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is not the sole responsibility of the legal or safety and health teams. Executive decision-making, HR training and personnel management, implementation by field managers, and management support budget and contract management must all be interconnected.

Who needs to check?

Responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is not a task that can be handled by a single safety and health manager. It requires the coordinated operation of decision-making by management, implementation at each workplace, training and workforce management by HR, and budget and contract management by business support.

manager	Things to check
Executive	Decision-making regarding safety and health objectives and management policies, personnel and budget allocation, and improvement of major risk factors
Safety and Health Officer	Risk assessment, safety and health management system inspection, accident prevention measures, training operation
HR Manager	Safety and health training, supervisor training, management of affected personnel, post-accident employee support
Management Support Manager	Safety and health budget, purchase of protective equipment and facilities, management of subcontracting, service, and outsourcing contracts
Supervisor	Supervision and control of on-site workers, pre-work safety measures, and reporting of risk factors
Site manager	Inspection of actual work environment, execution of work suspension, evacuation, and emergency measures
Partner company representative	Implementation of safety and health standards for contracted, service, and outsourced work
Workers/Employees	Reporting risk factors, complying with safety regulations, and providing suggestions for improvement

In particular, even for workplaces with a small number of regular employees, if work involving accident risks—such as manufacturing, construction, logistics, facility management, research institutes, hospitals, or on-site services—is performed, it is necessary to practically inspect whether a safety and health management system has been established.

Procedures that the person in charge must check

1. Check the applicability of the law and the scope of the workplace.

First, you must check whether your company is subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Currently, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act stipulates that the chapters related to serious industrial accidents do not apply to business owners and management executives of businesses or workplaces with fewer than 5 regular employees.

Confirmation items	Reasons why you need to check
Number of regular employees	Basic criteria for determining the applicability of the law
Number of workplaces	Verify the scope of management for headquarters, branches, factories, sites, etc.
Actual tasks performed	Check if the work is office-oriented or if there is field, equipment, logistics, or facility work.
Whether it is a contract, service, or entrustment	Verify whether external personnel are working at our workplace or in our tasks
Whether or not construction work	Confirmation of construction cost, roles of ordering and construction, and site management responsibilities
Work where serious industrial accidents are likely to occur	Identify risk factors such as entrapment, falls, chemicals, electric shock, suffocation, overwork, and heatwaves.

In practice, it is dangerous to conclude that there is no responsibility for safety and health management solely on the grounds that "our company has a large number of office workers" or "subcontractors handle the work." The review must be conducted based on the risks that may arise in the business or workplace that the company actually controls, operates, or manages.

2. Establish the safety and health objectives and management policies of the management responsible.

The starting point of a safety and health management system is the clear goals and policies of management. If there are no safety and health goals, or if there are only declarations without an action plan, it is difficult to regard it as an actual implementation system.

item	Examples of practical application
Safety and Health Objectives	Zero fatal accidents, improvement rate for high-risk work, risk assessment completion rate, etc.
Management Policy	The principle of managing safety as a management standard, not a cost.
Execution plan	Annual Safety and Health Plan, Departmental Tasks, Improvement Schedule
Designation of a person in charge	Safety and Health General Manager, Site Managers, Supervisors
Reporting system	Regular management reporting, emergency reporting channels for accidents and risks

Goals and policies must not remain mere text for posting. They must be linked to budget, personnel, training, risk assessment, and corrective measures to function as an actual management system.

3. Check key items of the safety and health management system.

The Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act sets forth specific details regarding the establishment of a safety and health management system and implementation measures. In practice, it is recommended to create an internal checklist based on the items below.

Inspection items	Items to check by the person in charge
Safety and Health Objectives and Management Policy	Documentation status, sharing status with members, management approval status
Dedicated organization or person in charge	Whether an organization or person in charge has been designated to oversee and manage safety and health affairs
Identification and improvement of hazardous and risk factors	Risk assessment, on-site inspection, corrective measures, and inspection at least once every six months
Budget formulation and execution	Whether costs for protective equipment, facility improvements, training, safety equipment, and health management are reflected
Authority of Safety and Health Managers, etc.	Whether the necessary authority and budget have been granted to the manager and supervisor
Placement of safety managers, health managers, etc.	Whether legally required personnel have been appointed and duties performed
Listening to employee opinions	Collection of worker opinions, Occupational Safety and Health Committee, operation of suggestion and reporting channels
Emergency Response Manual	Establish procedures for work suspension, evacuation, relief measures, and prevention of further damage
Management of contracts, services, and entrustment	Establishment of subcontractor selection criteria, safety and health costs, work period, and inspection standards

What is important here is not merely whether “documents exist,” but whether “it was actually implemented.” For example, even if a risk assessment checklist exists, if corrective measures are delayed, a budget is not allocated, and the person in charge is unable to report, it is difficult to consider the system to be functioning.

4. Link risk assessment and corrective measures

The most critical practical step in responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is identifying and improving hazardous and dangerous factors. The Ministry of Employment and Labor's explanatory guide also explains that it is important to identify hazardous and dangerous factors through accident history, employee opinions, accident cases in the same industry, and expert assessments, and to establish improvement procedures.

step	Action by the person in charge
Identify risk factors	On-site inspections, accident and near-miss records, employee feedback, work process verification
Risk assessment	Frequency and intensity assessment, classification of high-risk tasks
Establishment of improvement measures	Removal, replacement, engineering measures, administrative measures, provision of protective equipment
Budget reflection	Budgeting for facility improvements, protective gear, safety equipment, and training costs
Execution check	Verify completion status of improvement, person in charge, deadline, photos, or records
Re-evaluation	Confirmation of changes in risk levels after improvement
Management Report	Report on major risks and budget/personnel requirements

Risk assessments should not be prepared merely for paperwork, but should be used as decision-making data to reduce actual risks. In particular, recurring near misses, musculoskeletal strain, risks of electric shock, fire, suffocation, falls, and entrapment, customer verbal abuse and emotional labor, and risks of overwork must be checked regularly.

5. Manages contract, service, and outsourcing tasks.

A frequently overlooked aspect in responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is contracted, outsourced, and consigned work. When external personnel work within a company's business premises or workplace—such as in cleaning, security, facility management, logistics, equipment maintenance, construction, IT maintenance, or outsourced production—safety and health management standards must be verified.

Management Items	Things to check
vendor selection criteria	Industrial accident prevention capability, safety management experience, and availability of personnel and equipment
Contract Terms	Reflection of safety and health standards, protective equipment, right to stop work, and reporting obligations
Safety and health costs	Reflecting costs for safety facilities, protective equipment, training, and work environment improvement
pre-work consultation	Sharing work scope, risk factors, access routes, and emergency contact network
joint inspection	Inspections before, during, and after work, verification of risk factor improvement
Incident Response	Procedures for reporting, relief, evacuation, and prevention of further damage in the event of an accident
Record management	Retention of meeting minutes, checklists, training materials, photos, and records of corrective actions

It is difficult to simply conclude that "it is not our responsibility" regarding contracted, outsourced, or consigned work because the workers are external employees. In practice, safety and health standards must be incorporated from the contract stage, and risk factor inspections and corrective measures must be documented even during actual work.

6. Prepare a manual for accidents and imminent danger situations.

While the core of responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is accident prevention, a manual for immediate response in the event of an accident or imminent danger is also required.

Manual Items	Contents to include
Work Stoppage Criteria	Under what circumstances can the work be stopped?
Evacuation procedures	Evacuation routes, assembly points, and methods for verifying personnel
relief measures	First aid, calling 119, transport to hospital, emergency contact network
Preventing additional damage	Power cutoff, access control, danger zone marking, equipment shutdown
Reporting system	Reporting channels to site manager, safety and health officer, and management
Response by relevant agencies	Response procedures by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, police, fire department, etc.
Employee Support	Guide to Psychological Support for Accident Witnesses, Colleagues, and Managers
prevention of recurrence	Accident investigation, cause analysis, corrective measures, and training reflection

Simply writing a manual is not enough. You must check whether it is actually functioning at least once every six months and verify that field staff and managers understand the contents of the manual.

7. Systematically store supporting documents.

In responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, evidentiary materials are not merely documents for archival purposes, but serve as grounds to explain whether the obligation to ensure safety and health has been fulfilled.

Supporting documents	Management purpose
Safety and Health Objectives and Management Policy	Confirmation of management decision-making and safety and health direction
Annual Safety and Health Plan	Management of training, inspections, budgets, and improvement tasks
Risk Assessment Table	Basis for Identification and Evaluation of Hazardous and Risk Factors
Record of corrective measures	Verification of implementation of risk factor elimination and improvement
Budget formulation and execution details	Securing safety and health budget and proof of actual execution
Safety and Health Meeting Minutes	Reporting to management, listening to employee opinions, and records of improvement discussions
Industrial Safety and Health Education Materials	Verification of Worker and Supervisor Training Implementation
Contract for work, service, or consignment	Verify whether subcontractor safety and health standards are reflected
Emergency Response Manual	Verify procedures for work stoppage, evacuation, relief, and prevention of further damage
Accident and Near Miss Records	Basis for recurrence prevention measures and improvement actions

Records should not be created all at once, but rather accumulated continuously throughout the daily work process. It is recommended to manage checklists, meeting minutes, photos, training materials, and records of completed improvements by workplace and department.

Practical Checklist

item	check
I checked if our company is subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.	□
The number of regular employees, the scope of the workplace, and contracted, outsourced, and outsourced work have been summarized.	□
The management's safety and health objectives and management policies were documented.	□
A person in charge or organization was designated to oversee and manage safety and health affairs.	□
Hazardous and dangerous factors were identified for each workplace, and a risk assessment was conducted.	□
We set the person in charge and the deadline for corrective measures based on the risk assessment results.	□
We formulated the safety and health budget and managed the details of its actual execution.	□
The roles of the safety and health manager, supervisor, safety manager, and health manager were confirmed.	□
We operated meeting, suggestion, and reporting channels to listen to the opinions of employees.	□
Manuals for work suspension, evacuation, relief measures, and prevention of further damage have been prepared.	□
Standards for selecting contractors, service providers, and outsourced companies, as well as work management, were established.	□
We checked whether industrial safety and health training and supervisor training had been completed.	□
When accidents or near misses occurred, the cause analysis and measures to prevent recurrence were recorded.	□
Regular reports were submitted to management regarding major risk factors and the status of improvement measures.	□
Procedures for psychological support for victims, witnesses, and managers were established following the accident.	□

parts that are often missed

first, Cases where responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act is viewed merely as “preparing documents” It exists. The safety and health management system is not a document, but an actual implementation system. Risk factors must be identified, improvements made, the budget executed, personnel in charge must report, and behaviors in the field must change.

Second, Cases where the executive reporting system is operated only formally Major risk factors, accidents and near misses, budget requirements, and reasons for delays in improvements must be reported to management on a regular basis.

Third, Cases where a risk assessment was conducted but corrective measures were not followed It is available. The purpose of risk assessment is not merely to complete an evaluation form, but to reduce risk. You must manage everything from before-and-after photos of improvements and the completion date of measures to confirmation by the person in charge.

Fourth, Cases where contract, service, or entrusted work is missed Even if the work is performed by external personnel, if it falls within the scope of the company's actual control, operation, and management, safety and health standards and inspection records must be verified.

Fifth, Cases where psychological trauma and organizational anxiety are not managed after an accident There is. After a major accident or near miss, not only the victim but also witnesses, colleagues, and managers may experience anxiety, guilt, anger, and a burden of responsibility.

Sixth, Cases where the role of supervisor is handled solely through training Supervisors are the key implementers responsible for identifying risk factors before work begins, providing guidance on safety procedures, and reporting hazardous situations on-site. It is necessary to verify not only whether training has been completed but also whether the supervisor is actually performing their role.

Situations where EAP is needed

The key to responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act lies in accident prevention and the establishment of a safety and health management system. However, in organizations where actual serious accidents or near misses occur, psychological trauma among employees, internal anxiety, managerial burden, disputes over liability, and concerns about recurrence may arise alongside legal responses.

In the following situations, you may consider EAP or external counseling and organizational support systems together.

situation	Directions for EAP Utilization
Employees complain of shock and anxiety following a major accident or serious incident.	Crisis intervention, psychological emergency support
Accident witness exhibits insomnia, guilt, and avoidance reactions	Individual counseling, support for post-traumatic stress prevention
Field managers have difficulty communicating with employees and supporting their return after accidents.	Providing manager coaching and communication guides
Disputes over responsibility and conflicts within the organization intensified following the accident	Organizational recovery program, team-based counseling
Fatigue and dissatisfaction among field staff have increased following the strengthening of safety measures.	Change management consulting, organizational communication support
Issues regarding long-term treatment, industrial accidents, and return to work have arisen.	Psychological support before and after return, work adaptation support
Recurring tension and job stress among high-risk workers	Job stress counseling, recovery program

The Occupational Safety and Health Management System is an institutional mechanism for preventing accidents, while the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a complementary system that supports organizational recovery and alleviates psychological burdens before and after an accident. Particularly after a serious accident, it is necessary to address not only the support for the victim but also the burdens faced by witnesses, colleagues, managers, and HR personnel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Does the Serious Accidents Punishment Act apply to all companies?

You must verify the applicability of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act based on the number of regular employees and the situation of the workplace. Currently, provisions regarding serious industrial accidents do not apply to business owners and management executives of businesses or workplaces with fewer than five regular employees. However, for workplaces with five or more employees, it is advisable to review the industry type, actual working environment, and contracted, outsourced, or outsourced work together.

Q2. Is punishment mandatory if a serious accident occurs?

Punishment is not automatic simply because a serious accident has occurred. Factors such as whether the business owner or management violated their duty to ensure safety and health, and whether there is a causal link between that violation and the occurrence of the serious accident, are reviewed together. Therefore, it is important to establish a safety and health management system and keep records of its implementation on a regular basis.

Q3. What documents do I need to create for the safety and health management system?

Documents alone are insufficient. Safety and health objectives, management policies, risk assessments, corrective measures, budget execution, employee feedback, training, management of contracting, services, and outsourcing, and emergency response manuals must be actually implemented. Checklists, meeting minutes, photos of improvements, and training records must also be managed.

Q4. Is the response to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act complete once a risk assessment is conducted?

No. While risk assessment is an important starting point, it must be followed by corrective measures based on the results, budget allocation, designation of personnel, and monitoring of implementation. If the risk factors remain unchanged after merely completing the assessment form, it is difficult to consider it a substantive response.

Q5. What should HR personnel do in responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act?

HR personnel must manage safety and health training, supervisor training, new hire training, post-accident employee support, management of industrial accidents, leave of absence, and return to work, grievance response, and communication with managers. It is recommended to collaborate with the safety and health manager to organize training participants, completion records, and procedures for post-accident psychological support.

Next step

If you wish to go beyond simple checklist management in responding to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and instead manage safety and health systems, managerial response, post-accident psychological support, and organizational recovery together, review the education, counseling, and organizational support systems tailored to your organization through a Nudge EAP implementation consultation.

👉 Go to Nudge EAP Implementation Consultation →

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This content is intended for general informational purposes. Specific legal, labor, employment, occupational safety and health, medical, and psychological counseling matters may vary depending on workplace conditions and the latest laws, so review by relevant experts may be necessary.

Serious Accidents Punishment Act & Occupational Safety and Health Act