Kang Nam Labor Law Firm

CHAPTER Ⅰ General Provisions

Article 1 (Purpose): The purpose of this Act is to maintain and promote the safety and health of persons who provide labor through preventing industrial accidents by establishing standards on industrial safety and health and clarifying where the responsibility lies, and creating a comfortable working environment.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 1 (Purpose): The purpose of this Decree is to prescribe matters delegated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act and matters necessary for enforcing the said Act.

Article 2 (Definitions): The terms used in this Act are defined as follows:

1. The term "industrial accident" means any death, injury, or disease of a person who provides labor caused by structures, equipment, raw materials, gas, vapor, powder, dust, etc., related to the duties, or by work or other duties;

2. The term “serious accident” means an industrial accident prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, resulting in death or other severe damage or causing a number of victims;

3. The term "employee" means an employee prescribed in Article 2 (1) 1 of the Labor Standards Act;

4. The term "business owner" means a person who operates business by employing employees;

5. The term "representative of employees" means a person that represents a labor union organized by more than half of employees, if any, or that represents more than half of employees in the absence of a labor union organized by more than half of employees;

6. The term "contract" means, regardless of how it is referred to, assigning another person the manufacturing, building, or repair of articles, the provision of services, or other duties;

7. The term “contractee” means a business owner who awards a contract for the manufacturing, building, or repair of articles, the provision of services, or other duties: Provided, That a person placing an order for construction works shall be excluded herefrom;

8. The term “contractor” means a business owner who is awarded a contract by a contractee for the manufacturing, building, or repair of articles, the provision of services, or other duties;

9. The term “relevant contractor” means, where a contract is executed in several stages, any contractor who is awarded a contract for any stage of such contract;

10. The term “person placing an order for construction works” means a person who awards a contract for construction works without taking the lead in supervising and managing the implementation of the construction works: Provided, That any person who is subcontracted for any contracted construction works shall be excluded herefrom;

11. The term “construction works” means any of the following construction:

(a) Construction works defined in subparagraph 4 of Article 2 of the Framework Act on the Construction Industry;

(b) Electrical construction defined in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Electrical Construction Business Act;

(c) Information and communications construction projects defined in subparagraph 2 of Article 2 of the Information and Communications Construction Business Act;

(d) Fire-fighting system installation referred to in the Fire-Fighting System Installation Business Act;

(e) Cultural heritage maintenance works referred to in the Act on Cultural Heritage Maintenance;

12. The term "safety and health checkup" means conducting investigation and evaluation for the purpose of identifying potential risks and establishing countermeasures for improvement to prevent industrial accidents;

13. The term "working environment monitoring" means collecting, analyzing, and evaluating samples after a business owner formulates a plan to measure hazardous factors regarding his or her employees or workplace to ascertain the actual status of the working environment.

Article 4 (Duties of Government): (1) The Government shall faithfully fulfill the following duties to achieve the purpose of this Act:

1. Formulating and executing occupational safety and health policies;

2. Supporting and providing guidance on the prevention of industrial accidents;

3. Establishing the standards for measures for preventing workplace harassment prescribed in Article 76-2 of the Labor Standards Act, and providing guidance and support;

4. Supporting the establishment of a voluntary management system for occupational safety and health by a business owner;

5. Promoting a culture of safety through public campaign, education, etc. aimed at raising awareness for occupational safety and health;

6. Researching and developing technology related to occupational safety and health, and installing and operating relevant facilities;

7. Maintaining and managing investigations and statistics on industrial accidents;

8. Supporting, guiding, and supervising organizations, etc. related to occupational safety and health;

9. Protecting and improving the safety and health of persons providing labor.

(2) The Government may provide administrative and financial support to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency established under the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Agency") and to other related organizations and research institutes to efficiently perform the duties prescribed in each subparagraph of paragraph (1).

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 2 (Scope of Application): (1) The scope of businesses or places of business to which the Occupational Safety and Health Act(hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) does not fully or partially apply pursuant to the proviso of Article 3 of the Act, and the provisions of the Act that do not apply to the relevant businesses or places of business are as listed in attached Table 1.

(2) The classification of the businesses subject to this Decree shall be in accordance with the Korean Standard Industrial Classification Table publicly notified by the Commissioner of Statistics Korea pursuant to the Statistics Act.

Article 4 (Duty of Government): (1) In order to accomplish the goals of Article 1, the Government shall fulfill faithfully the following responsibilities：
1. Establishment, execution, coordination and control of occupational safety and health policy；
2. Support and guidance for the prevention of accidents and diseases in the workplace；
3. Safety assessment and improvement of harmful and dangerous machines, instruments, and equipment, protective devices, personal protective equipment, etc.；
4. Preparation of criteria for safety and health measures and guidance and inspection on harmful or dangerous machines, instruments, equipment, materials, etc.；
5. Support for the establishment of autonomous safety and health management system by workplaces；
6. Promotion of safety culture through public relations activities, education, accident-free campaigns, etc., to raise awareness about safety and health；
7. Research and development of technology and installation and operation of facilities for safety and health；
8. Maintenance and management of investigations and statistics on industrial accidents；
9. Support, guidance and inspection of organizations related to safety and health；and
10. Other matters concerning the protection and promotion of workers’ safety and health.
(2) The Government shall come up with policies to carry out effectively the matters referred to in each subparagraph of paragraph (1), and if deemed necessary, it may provide the Korea Occupational Safety & Health Agency (hereinafter referred to as the “Agency”) under the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Act and other related organizations and research institutes with administrative and financial support.
<This Article Wholly Amended by Act No. 9434, Feb. 6, 2009>

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 3 (Preparation of Policies for Preventing Industrial Accidents): The Minister of Employment and Labor shall prepare policies relating to researching and disseminating techniques of preventing industrial accidents, and safety and health technology support and education, in order to support and guide the prevention of industrial accidents pursuant to Article 4 (1) 2 of the Act.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 4 (Support for Establishing Occupational Safety and Health Management System): The Minister of Employment and Labor shall prepare policies relating to each of the following to support business owners in establishing a voluntary management system for occupational safety and health referred to in Article 4 (1) 4 of the Act:

1. Researching and disseminating techniques that businesses can apply to operating a voluntary safety and health management system;

2. Enhancing the level of safety management and health management of businesses.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 5 (Preparation of Policies for Raising Occupational Safety and Health Awareness): The Minister of Employment and Labor shall prepare policies relating to each of the following to raise awareness of occupational safety and health pursuant to Article 4 (1) 5 of the Act:

1. Promoting occupational safety and health education, and publicity campaign therefor;

2. Promoting the public’s sound and voluntary activities related to occupational safety and health;

3. Establishing an occupational safety and health awareness campaign period and implementing the campaign.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 6 (Investigation into Industrial Accidents and Preservation and Management of Statistics): The Minister of Employment and Labor shall investigate industrial accidents and preserve and manage statistics thereon pursuant to Article 4 (1) 7 of the Act in order to prevent industrial accidents, actively reflecting them in establishing and implementing policies for preventing industrial accidents.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 7 (Implementation of Health Promotion Projects): The Minister of Employment and Labor shall prepare policies relating to each of the following to efficiently protect and improve the safety and health of persons providing labor pursuant to Article 4 (1) 9 of the Act:

1. Disseminating and popularizing projects for improving the safety and health of persons providing labor;

2. Creating a clean working environment.

Article 5 (Duties of Business Owners): (1) A business owner (including a person receiving labor from a worker in special employment relations referred to in Article 77 and a person brokering the collection, delivery, etc. of goods referred to in Article 78; hereafter in this Article and Article 6, the same shall apply) shall maintain and promote the safety and health of employees (including persons engaged in special type of employment referred to in Article 77 and persons engaged in collection, delivery, etc. of goods referred to in Article 78; hereafter in this Article and Article 6, the same shall apply) by implementing the following, and comply with the policies of the State for preventing industrial accidents:

1. Complying with the standards for preventing industrial accidents prescribed by this Act or any order issued pursuant to this Act;

2. Creating a pleasant working environment and improving working conditions so as to decrease physical fatigue, mental stress, etc. of employees;

3. Providing employees with information on safety and health at the relevant place of business.

(2) When any of the following persons engages in the placement of an order, design, manufacturing, importation, or construction, he or she shall comply with the standards prescribed by this Act and any order issued pursuant to this Act, and take necessary measures to prevent industrial accidents that may be caused due to any article used for such placement of an order, design, manufacturing, importation, or construction:

1. Any person who designs, manufactures, or imports machinery, apparatus, and other equipment;

2. Any person who manufactures or imports raw materials, etc.;

3. Any person who places an order for, designs, or constructs any structure.

Article 6 (Duties of Employees): Employees shall comply with the standards for preventing industrial accidents prescribed by this Act or any order issued pursuant to this Act as well as the measures for preventing industrial accidents taken by relevant persons, including business owners, labor inspectors referred to in Article 101 of the Labor Standards Act, and the Agency.

Article 7 (Formulation and Publication of Basic Plans for Preventing Industrial Accidents): (1) The Minister of Employment and Labor shall formulate a basic plan for preventing industrial accidents.

(2) The Minister of Employment and Labor shall publish a basic plan formulated under paragraph (1) after having such plan deliberated on by the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Prevention Deliberation Committee referred to in Article 8 (1) of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act. The same shall also apply where he or she intends to amend a basic plan.

Article 8 (Requests for Cooperation): (1) When deemed necessary to effectively execute a basic plan established under Article 7 (1), the Minister of Employment and Labor may request necessary cooperation from the heads of relevant administrative agencies or the heads of public institutions referred to in Article 4 of the Act on the Management of Public Institutions.

(2) Where the head of an administrative agency (excluding the Ministry of Employment and Labor; hereafter in this Article, the same shall apply) intends to regulate safety and health in a place of business, he or she shall consult with the Minister of Employment and Labor in advance.

(3) Where the Minister of Employment and Labor requests any amendment to the relevant regulations during consultation referred to in paragraph (2), the head of the administrative agency shall comply with such request, and where necessary, the Minister of Employment and Labor may determine the consulted or coordinated matters after reporting such matters to the Prime Minster.

(4) When deemed necessary to prevent industrial accidents, the Minister of Employment and Labor may recommend necessary matters to, or request cooperation from, business owners, business owners' organizations, and other relevant persons.

(5) The Minister of Employment and Labor may request the heads of central administrative agencies, the heads of local governments, the Agency, or the heads of relevant institutions or organizations to provide the following information or data and to allow the use of related computer networks to prevent industrial accidents. In such cases, the heads of central administrative agencies, the heads of local governments, or the heads of relevant institutions or organizations in receipt of such request shall comply with it unless there is a compelling reason not to do so:

1. Information regarding business registration prescribed in Article 8 of the Value-Added Tax Act and Article 111 of the Corporate Tax Act;

2. Information regarding employees’ insured status, such as attainment and loss thereof, prescribed in Article 15 of the Employment Insurance Act;

3. Other information or data prescribed by Presidential Decree as necessary to conduct a project for preventing industrial accidents.

Article 9 (Establishment and Operation of Integrated Information System on Industrial Accident Prevention): (1) The Minister of Employment and Labor may establish and operate an integrated information system for industrial accident prevention to systematically and efficiently prevent industrial accidents.

(2) The Minister of Employment and Labor may provide information on occupational safety and health, etc. processed using an integrated information system for industrial accident prevention referred to in paragraph (1) to the relevant administrative agencies and the Agency, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

(3) The establishment and operation of an integrated information system for industrial accident prevention referred to in paragraph (1) and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by Presidential Decree.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 9 (Establishment and Operation of Integrated Information System on Industrial Accident Prevention): (1) Where the Minister of Employment and Labor establishes and operates an integrated information system on industrial accident prevention under Article 9 (1) of the Act, information prescribed in each of the following shall be processed:

1. Information on businesses or places of business governed by the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act under Article 6 of that Act;

2. Information on the occurrence of industrial accidents;

3. Information on safety and health, such as the findings of safety inspections referred to in Article 93 of the Act and the results of working environment measurement referred to in Article 125 of the Act;

4. Other information determined and publicly notified by the Minister of Employment and Labor to prevent industrial accidents.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), the research and development and technical support for establishing and operating an integrated information system on industrial accidents, and other necessary details regarding establishing, operating, etc. an integrated information system on industrial accident prevention shall be prescribed by the Minister of Employment and Labor.

Article 10 (Publication of Number of Industrial Accidents): (1) To prevent industrial accidents, the Minister of Employment and Labor shall publish the number of industrial accidents involving employees, the occurrence rate, ranking of industrial accidents, etc. (hereinafter referred to as the “number, etc. of industrial accidents”) at places of business prescribed by Presidential Decree.

(2) Where employees of a relevant contractor work at any place of business of a contractee prescribed by Presidential Decree (including places prescribed by Presidential Decree that are controlled and managed by a contractee, among the places of business provided or designated by a contractee; hereinafter the same shall apply), the Minister of Employment and Labor shall publish the number, etc. of industrial accidents of the contractee, which shall include the number, etc. of industrial accidents of a relevant contractor, pursuant to paragraph (1).

(3) The Minister of Employment and Labor may request that a contractee submit data on his or her relevant contractors to publish the number, etc. of industrial accidents pursuant to paragraph (2). In such cases, the contractee so requested shall comply with such request unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.

(4) The procedures and methods for publication under paragraphs (1) and (2) and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 10 (Places of Business Subject to Publication): (1) "Places of Business prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 10 (1) of the Act means any of the following places of business:

1. Where the number of fatalities caused by industrial accidents (hereinafter referred to as “accident fatalities”) is at least two per year;

2. Where the death rate per 10,000 (referring to the rate of accident fatalities per 10,000 full-time employees per year) is equal to or greater than the average death rate per 10,000 of the places of business of the same category and scale;

3. Where a serious industrial accident referred to in the former part of Article 44 (1) of the Act occurs;

4. Which conceal any industrial accident, in violation of Article 57 (1) of the Act;

5. Which fail to make a report on any industrial accident prescribed in Article 57 (3) of the Act at least twice in the last three years.

(2) In cases of a place of business falling under any of subparagraphs 1 through 3 of paragraph (1) which serves as a place of business of a relevant contractor, if any employee of the relevant contractor suffers an industrial accident because a contractee referred to in Article 63 of the Act violates the duty to take measures for preventing industrial accidents of employees of the relevant contractor, the number of occurrences of industrial accidents referred to in Article 10 (1) of the Act in a place of business of the contractee (including places prescribed in the subparagraphs of Article 11 that are controlled and managed by the contractee, among the places provided or designated by the contractee; hereinafter the same shall apply) shall also be published.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 11 (Places Controlled and Managed by Contractees): "Places prescribed by Presidential Decree" in Article 10 (2) of the Act means any of the following:

1. Places where there is a risk of collapse of earth and sand, structures, artificial structures, etc.;

2. Places where a machine or equipment may fall or collapse;

3. Places where safety railings need to be installed;

4. Places where a scaffold or formwork is installed or dismantled;

5. Places where construction lifts are operated;

6. Places where ground is excavated or blasting works are conducted;

7. Places where workers may fall, such as elevator halls;

8. Places where asbestos-attached materials are crushed or dismantled;

9. Places close to public power lines, where there is a risk of electric shock when installing, dismantling, inspecting, repairing, etc. facilities;

10. Places where objects may fall or fly over;

11. Places where work is performed using a press or shear;

12. Places where work is performed using vehicle-type cargo handling machinery or vehicle-type construction machinery;

13. Places where work with a risk of electric shock is performed using electric machines or devices;

14. Places where work with a risk of collision or confinement caused by rolling stock (including urban rolling stock defined in the Urban Railroad Act) defined in subparagraph 4 of Article 3 of the Framework Act on Railroad Industry Development is performed;

15. Other places prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor as places with a high risk of accidents such as fire or explosion.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 12 (Places of Business Subject to Integrated Publication): “Places of business prescribed by Presidential Decree”in Article 10 (2) of the Act means places of business for performing any of the following businesses where the number of full-time employees used by a contractee is at least 500 and the consolidated death rate per 10,000 (referring to the death rate per 10,000 calculated by excluding accident fatalities dying of diseases) calculated by including the number of the employees of a relevant contractor exceeds the death rate per 10,000 only for the place of business of the contractee:

1. Manufacturing business;

2. Railroad transportation business;

3. Urban railroad transportation business;

4. Electricity business.

Article 11 (Installation and Operation of Industrial Accident Prevention Facilities): The Minister of Employment and Labor may install and operate the following facilities to prevent industrial accidents:

1. Facilities for guidance, research, and training on occupational safety and health;

2. Facilities for safety and health checkup and working environment monitoring;

3. Facilities for maintaining and promoting the health of persons providing labor;

4. Other facilities for preventing industrial accidents, as prescribed by Ordinance of the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

Article 12 (Financial Resources for Preventing Industrial Accidents): Financial resources to be appropriated for any of the following uses shall be provided by the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance and Prevention Fund prescribed in Article 95 (1) of the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act:

1. Expenses necessary to install and operate the facilities prescribed in the subparagraphs of Article 11;

2. Expenses necessary to conduct projects related to industrial accident prevention and duties entrusted to nonprofit corporations;

3. Business expenses incurred in other projects that are necessary for industrial accident prevention and acknowledged by the Minister of Employment and Labor.

Article 13 (Standards for Technology or Working Environments): (1) To prevent industrial accidents, the Minister of Employment and Labor may establish standards for technology or working environments related to any of the following measures, and provide guidance on and recommend such standards to a business owner:

1. Measures that a person prescribed in any subparagraph of Article 5 (2) shall take to prevent industrial accidents pursuant to that paragraph;

2. Measures a business owner shall take pursuant to Articles 38 and 39.

(2) When deemed necessary to establish the standards referred to in paragraph (1), the Minister of Employment and Labor may organize and operate standard formulation committees for each field.

(3) The organization and operation of standard formulation committees under paragraph (2) and other necessary matters shall be prescribed by the Minister of Employment and Labor.

Enforcement Ordinance

Article 8 (Cooperation by Business Owners): Business owners (limited to this Article, including persons who receive labor from workers in special employment relations referred to in Article 77 of the Act and persons who broker the collection, delivery, etc. of goods referred to in Article 78 of the Act), employees (limited to this Article, including workers in special employment relations referred to in Article 77 of the Act and persons who collect, deliver, etc. goods referred to in Article 78 of the Act), or other related associations shall cooperate by actively participating in policies, etc. referred to in Articles 3 through 7.