[Must Read] What Business Owners Should Know to Defend Against Actual Imprisonment for Failing to Ensure Workplace Safety

This is LAWFIRM LEAP, where a team of three attorneys with backgrounds at major law firms and the police handle each case.

There was a case at Doosung Industries in which 16 employees contracted toxic hepatitis due to chemical exposure.

Regarding this, it was determined that the accident occurred because Doosung Industries used cleaning agents containing hazardous substances without installing safety devices at the workplace, and the Prosecution indicted the company's representative for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

There is also a case involving the representative of another auto parts manufacturer, in a similar incident to Doosung's, who was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment with a 2-year suspended sentence for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Among those reading this now, there may be some who, like in the cases above, neglected workplace safety and are now under Police Investigation for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

As such, this matter should not be taken lightly, since it may result in actual imprisonment upon criminal conviction, and if a victim has been harmed and liability is established, civil damages proceedings may also follow.

If you fail to properly secure initial statements or evidence and respond inadequately, you may fail to defend against an excessive sentence and end up serving actual prison time, or suffer massive financial losses that could seriously threaten your company's future operations.

Therefore, the best approach is to thoroughly clarify the allegations during the investigation stage and reduce legal liability to obtain a Suspended Indictment.

With that in mind, today the expert attorneys at LAWFIRM LEAP, who have experience at major law firms and as former police officers, will summarize the key points you must know and address if you are under investigation for failing to comply with workplace safety obligations.

01Violation of Workplace Safety Obligations Can Lead to Criminal Punishment

Business owners who employ workers must essentially conduct inspections of internal workplace facilities.

Failure to do so may result in being charged with violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and becoming subject to criminal punishment.

02Article 2 (Definitions) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act

1. "Industrial accident" means death, injury, or illness suffered by a person providing labor, caused by construction structures, facilities, raw materials, gas, vapor, dust, etc. related to work, or by work or other duties. 2. "Serious accident" means an industrial accident designated by the Minister of Employment and Labor as one involving severe consequences, such as death, or a large number of victims.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act referred to here is a law established to set standards for industrial safety and health, to prevent industrial accidents, and to maintain and enhance the safety and health of workers.

This matter also involves various provisions defining obligations that business owners must comply with.

Typically, violations of construction site guidelines or, at manufacturing sites, incidents caused by negligent management of hazardous substances or machinery are generally subject to punishment under this Act.

Therefore, if you are under Police Investigation regarding this matter, or if an accident at your workplace has resulted in casualties, you must quickly assess the situation and determine whether an actual violation is legally established.

In such cases, it is advantageous to obtain assistance from an attorney specializing in labor and corporate law, as depending on the case, the charges may extend beyond a simple statutory violation to include occupational negligence resulting in injury, which can lead to a heavier sentence.

To prevent aggravating factors such as intent or habitual conduct from being recognized, we advise you to prepare your initial response with the assistance of legal counsel experienced in handling numerous such cases.

03How to Minimize Legal Liability for Violating Workplace Safety Obligations

There are many incidents caused by negligent management responsibility at workplaces.

Once an incident has already occurred, preventing it in advance is treated as important, since it can cause not only casualties but also significant damage to the business.

Nevertheless, there are many cases in which incidents occur due to personnel accidents, etc.

In such cases, you must thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident to determine whether an actual supervisor was present and whether a work plan was properly prepared, whether there was any fault on the part of the worker at the site, and whether there was a failure to recognize that an accident could occur.

In this process, you must also obtain favorable sentencing consideration by demonstrating that you had complied with the statutory required measures, that despite this an accident occurred but you promptly took responsibility and proceeded with compensation for the victim, that there had been no prior violations of the law, and that you have been implementing various measures for the benefit of workers at the workplace, in order to obtain leniency.

However, since mitigating factors can differ from workplace to workplace, and perceptions of the issues involved in a case also differ, you should seek the assistance of an expert who has a deep understanding of labor law and related statutes and, on that basis, properly recognizes the key favorable points that must be presented during the investigation stage.

Only then can you defend against criminal punishment in this matter and also preemptively settle with individual victims who may seek compensation through civil litigation, thereby preventing additional disputes from arising.

Because we have actual experience conducting investigations, we are able to respond effectively to investigations.

Today, we have summarized a response strategy for those facing the risk of criminal punishment due to a workplace accident.

In particular, if there has been loss of life, the severity of the matter may increase, so you should take prompt action and prepare countermeasures in advance to avoid the situation escalating to Indictment and Trial.

The attorneys at LAWFIRM LEAP are experts with experience at Korea's largest law firms, Kim & Chang and Bae, Kim & Lee, as well as backgrounds as former police officers, and with our in-depth investigative know-how, we can find ways to obtain a Suspended Indictment for matters related to labor law.

Based on our deep understanding of the law and know-how gained from handling numerous similar cases, we will help ensure that clients do not suffer from unjust or excessive rulings, through accurate situational analysis and effective methods of proof tailored to each client's circumstances.

Please feel free to entrust your case to us.

This has been LAWFIRM LEAP.