초록 열기/닫기 버튼

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) of Korea, there are government-issued regulations required by the employers to follow in order to protect workers’ health and safety at the workplace. If employers violate the regulations, the government imposes criminal and administrative penalties on them. However, the OSH Act is becoming less effective since the criminal penalty is rare and relatively minimal. For the effective implementation of the OSH Act, it is important to strengthen criminal penalties. But another effective way is the Ministry of Employment and Labor, which is in charge of occupational safety management and inspection, to impose administrative sanctions. In addition, it will be also effective to strengthen administrative control of the OSH Act by seeking changes in legal framework and regulations, and clarifying the scope of regulatory coverage. The OSH Act can state the responsibilities and limitations of employers and workers more clearly, define the responsibilities of the government, and stipulate where the responsibilities lie in the cases of violations. From the aspect of public law of a nation, it is important to establish the grounds for more strict administrative measures when it comes to significant issues such as protecting the lives and properties of workers in workplaces. Within the scope of the authority to conduct labor inspection, establishing the grounds for more strict administrative measures and immediate administrative actions will empower the administrative control under the administrative law.