Industrial accident deaths increase despite toughened punishment
The number of workers who died from industrial accidents in the first quarter reached 253. Such deaths have since continued. In April, 38 people died in a fire at the construction site of a warehouse in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, and a cement factory worker in Gangwon Province was killed after getting caught in a conveyor belt last month. All these accidents occurred even though the government began to implement the sharply strengthened Industrial Safety and Health Act from January.
The revised law on occupational safety has enhanced the punishment of business owners who violate their duty to ensure the safety of their workers. In the event of workers' deaths because of such negligence, their employers could face up to seven years of imprisonment and a maximum fine of 100 million won ($81,430). After the tragic fire, however, 136 labor and civic groups launched the "campaign headquarters for enacting laws to punish businesses that cause grave disasters," calling for punishments to be strengthened further.
The nation's high industrial death rate has been due to the light punishment of grave industrial disasters and the outsourcing of high-risk jobs to subcontract workers.
If the penalties are lighter than the costs needed to ensure safety, businesses will feel tempted to neglect safety measures. For instance, six people died from an explosion at a plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, in 2013. Still, the employer paid only 5 million won in fines. Even more glaring, 40 workers died in a fire while building cold storage, also in Icheon, and the penalty was a mere 20 million won. These show strengthened punishments will change nothing unless sentencing guidelines are changed accordingly.
Also needed is enhanced safety awareness from employers and employees alike and the improvement of the government's overall system. The central and local officials should cooperate to find ways to upgrade supervisory efficiency by jointly managing and inspecting industrial sites with a focus on workplaces with high risks. Business owners also need a change of perception that beefing up industrial safety, albeit costlier now, will eventually sharpen their competitive edge and improve productivity.