Enhancement of EHS Regulations: Introduction of Safety and Health Information Disclosure System and Sanctions on Risk Assessment, Etc.

The amendments to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (the “OSHA”) and the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (the “IACI Act”) were promulgated on February 19, 2026.

These amendments are a follow-up legislation of the Comprehensive Plan for Work Safety, which was jointly announced by relevant ministries (i.e., Ministry of Employment and Labor (“MOEL”), Ministry of SMEs and Startups, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Financial Services Commission) on September 15, 2025. The amendments set forth matters regarding (i) the introduction of the safety and health information disclosure system, (ii) the insertion of sanction provisions on risk assessment and participation of employee representatives, (iii) the guarantee of workers’ (or their representatives’) participation during industrial accident investigations, (iv) the expansion of the scope of industrial accident investigation, and (v) the honorary occupational safety inspectors’ participation in the MOEL’s inspections, etc.

Key Amendments to OSHA

Key Details

Newly established: Introduction of safety and health disclosure system

(Article 10-2, effective as of August 1, 2026)

To require companies of a certain size^[1] to disclose the status of major safety and health issues^[2]

–	For violations of the safety and health disclosure obligation: Administrative fine not exceeding KRW 10 million

Enhanced and newly established: Insertion of sanction provisions on risk assessment and enhancement of procedures

(Article 36 and Article 175, effective as of June 1, 2026)

To newly establish sanctions on violations of the obligations to perform risk assessment and to guarantee workers’ participation (administrative fine not exceeding KRW 10 million)
To newly establish sanctions (i) on failure to guarantee participation of workers or employee representatives and failure to share key issues (administrative fine not exceeding KRW 5 million), and (ii) on failure to keep and maintain records (administrative fine not exceeding KRW 3 million)

–	Workplaces hiring more than 50 employees (construction cost of KRW 5 billion): From January 1, 2027

–	Workplaces hiring fewer than 50 employees (construction cost of KRW 5 billion): From January 1, 2028

To guarantee participation of employee representatives in workplace risk assessment upon their request
To notify risk assessment results: Postings at the business place, written or electronic notices, etc.
To stipulate the obligation to routinely inform workers of hazardous or dangerous factors before work

Enhanced: Expansion of investigation scope for accidents and clarified rules on disclosing investigation reports

(Article 56 and Article 56-2, effective as of June 1, 2026)

Expansion of investigation scope: To clearly add legal grounds to investigate other industrial accidents, such as fires and explosions, in addition to serious accidents (effective as of December 1, 2026)
Stipulation of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency’s (“KOSHA”) accident report preparation and disclosure principles: (i) To be disclosed after the filing of a prosecution if subject to criminal investigation, or (ii) may be disclosed regardless of prosecution if not subject to investigation

Enhanced: Honorary occupational safety inspectors’ participation

(Article 23, effective as of August 1, 2026)

To require the Minister of Employment and Labor’s appointment of honorary occupational safety inspectors recommended by the employee representatives (previously at the Minister’s discretion)
To guarantee honorary occupational safety inspectors’ participation in labor inspections (previously no statutory ground for participation)

Key Amendments to IACI Act

Key Details

Newly established: Participation in on-site investigations and employers’ obligation to provide documents

(Article 81, Article 116 and Article 117, effective as of July 1, 2026)

To guarantee the participation of insurance benefit applicants (or their representatives) during on-site industrial accident investigations
To impose an obligation on employers to provide documents necessary to receive insurance benefits
To clarify provisions on bereaved families’ succession of the right to receive payable insurance benefits

The amended OSHA introduces a new safety and health information disclosure system and risk assessment system. As these changes will bring about significant systemic changes in how companies manage occupational safety and health matters, companies must closely review and prepare for their new obligations.

Regarding the safety and health information disclosure system, a company’s safety and health management status will be publicly disclosed. This includes items such as its safety and health management system, safety and health activities, budget execution and performance, and industrial accident status. As a result, regulatory authorities and external stakeholders may raise questions about a company’s safety and health management even where the company has had no recent industrial accidents. Accordingly, companies should (i) confirm that their safety and health management systems are being properly operated, and (ii) prepare in advance a disclosure plan covering their safety and health activities, budget and performance. In particular, because a company’s safety and health management system is closely tied to the allocation of responsibility if an accident occurs, companies should sufficiently review key structural issues—such as how the “workplace unit” is defined (including whether a site qualifies as an independent workplace) and whether safety and health management officers are appropriately designated—to minimize the risk of future disputes.
Meanwhile, risk assessment is a core element of implementing safety and health securement obligations under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (the “SAPA”). If an administrative fine is imposed under the amended OSHA due to an insufficient risk assessment, this may be viewed as a failure to comply with the obligation to secure safety and health under the SAPA and may therefore operate unfavorably for the company. Companies should therefore thoroughly review and, where necessary, refine their operational procedures (including those expressly required under the OSHA), strengthen education and training on relevant personnel, and supplement related internal regulations on risk assessment to align with the amendments. In addition, as the amended OSHA places emphasis on worker participation in identifying and reducing workplace risks, companies should determine an appropriate and practical level of worker involvement—such as requiring worker participation at each stage of the risk assessment process.

In addition, following the promulgation of the above-mentioned amendments on February 19, 2026, another proposed amendment to the OSHA was passed by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee) on February 23, 2026. This proposal includes enhanced regulations such as (i) imposing a penalty surcharge (up to 5% of operating profits) on companies having frequent fatal accidents (i.e., three or more cases a year), (ii) enhancing and expanding workers’ and the MOEL’s authority to request work suspension, and (iii) establishing the standards for the revocation of construction business license (if there are three or more business suspension orders over three years). The National Assembly could pass this additional proposal shortly, so companies should closely follow relevant legislative developments.

As compliance with these recent amendments may significantly affect how a company’s compliance with safety and health statutes is assessed, companies should review their compliance status and on-site safety control practices in preparation for the upcoming effective dates. Finally, certain amendments—including the safety and health information disclosure system—are expected to be further specified in subordinate statutes. Companies should therefore incorporate developments on subordinate legislation into their compliance planning.

^[1] Employers, public institutions and local public corporations hiring at least the number of employees prescribed by presidential decree.
^[2] Safety and health management systems, the status of industrial accidents, the previous year’s safety and health activities and results, the current year’s plan for safety and health activities, investment in safety and health, and industrial accident recurrence prevention measures and implementation plans, etc.

[Korean Version]

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