National Assembly Passes Occupational Safety and Health Act Amendment

On October 1, 2026, the National Assembly in Seoul passed an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act that allows authorities to levy fines of up to five percent of operating profits on businesses with repeated industrial fatalities, donga.com reported.

The legislation cleared the 10th plenary session of the 439th regular session of parliament with 161 votes in favor, 52 against, and six abstentions out of 219 members present. Lawmakers from the ruling and opposition blocs split over the measure, which also explicitly enshrines the right of workers and subcontractors to halt unsafe work.

Ruling party legislators and minor opposition parties advanced the bill despite fierce resistance from the People Power Party, which opposed the measure as a party line. During debate, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang criticized the legislation, stating that an amendment formulated unilaterally without sufficient bipartisan deliberation contains severe toxic clauses that will spawn fatal side effects for industrial sites and the national economy.

Proponents countered that the provisions act as necessary safeguards. The Democratic Party argued that while some claim the measures impose burdens on businesses, the work-stoppage right is not an enterprise cost, but rather an insurance policy preventing far greater, unmanageable expenses.

Fines Tied to Profit and Expanded Work-Stoppage Rights

Under the newly passed statute, businesses face financial penalties up to five percent of their operating profits if three workers die within a single year due to safety and health violations. The People Power Party had proposed a modification capping the maximum penalty at five billion won, but that adjustment was rejected during the floor vote.

In addition to financial penalties, the legislation broadens the criteria under which employers must suspend operations and expands the scope of workers eligible to demand a work stoppage. Employees gain the explicit right to demand that employers halt work when an imminent danger or risk of an industrial accident occurs, and employers must take action unless extraordinary circumstances exist. The measures also widen the grounds under which the Minister of Employment and Labor can order operational halts.

Corporate Opposition and Industry Demands for Support

Business organizations immediately denounced the parliamentary decision. The Korea Enterprises Federation issued a statement arguing that the criteria are excessive and unrealistic, ignoring the actual environment of corporate management.

The federation warned that large corporations could face astronomical fines under the formula, while small and medium-sized enterprises risk severe threats to their survival. Industry representatives noted that successive administrations have steadily heightened penalties through laws such as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and the previous Occupational Safety and Health Act without achieving a corresponding drop in actual workplace accidents.

Industrial sectors have consistently argued that reducing serious accidents requires pivoting policy away from post-incident punishment and supervision toward proactive prevention, aligning enforcement systems with advanced economies that prioritize safety support and technical guidance. Employers also expressed alarm over the lack of precise statutory thresholds for invoking the worker work-stoppage right.

Korea Enterprises Federation

To mitigate these operational risks, the organization urged the government to prioritize drafting clear subordinate statutes and administrative guidelines that minimize negative side effects during implementation.