Maybe You Should Try Not Killing Your Employees

After years of safety issues, South Korea has implemented a workplace safety law that could hold executives accountable for workplace injuries, and executives, particularly foreign executives are concerned (Panicked) about this.

Perhaps, instead of freaking out at the possibility of being frog-marched out of your offices in handcuffs, you should stop cutting corners with regard to safety:

Foreign businesses in South Korea have warned that a new workplace safety law due to come in force next year will undermine the country’s appeal as a destination for overseas companies.

The American and European chambers of commerce in Seoul said the Severe Accident Punishment Act, which will take effect in January, has exacerbated longstanding concerns about criminal penalties for even minor regulatory infractions. 

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Under the new law, senior executives could be held criminally responsible for a range of accidents and work-related injuries and illnesses unless they can demonstrate compliance with a long list of criteria. Convicted executives face a fine and a minimum one-year prison sentence.

“CEOs in Korea — whether foreign or Korean — are personally liable for so many things that are beyond their control,” said James Kim, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. “They are asking why they should be taking on all these personal risks to come and work here.”

American Chamber of Commerce in Korea?  Not surprising that they want slap on the wrist fines to make killing workers just another cost of doing business.

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But advocates say the law is necessary because South Korea has one of the highest industrial death rates in the developed world, with more than 2,000 work-related fatalities reported last year, according to the labour ministry.

“Companies should invest more in safety, not just pursue profits relentlessly,” said Kim Woo-chan, a business professor at Korea University. “If they implement safety measures thoroughly, this will clearly help prevent serious work injuries.”

One of  the reasons that the RoK is attractive as a business location is that you can kill workers and emerged unscathed.

That's just wrong.

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“There’s just way too much criminal liability in Korean law — whether it’s maintenance issues, environmental issues, employment issues, customs issues, or tax issues. Korea and its economy would be much better served if it adopted a much wider range of administrative fines instead.”

Administrative fines instead, meaning that companies profit from the behavior, and the the parties responsible are never held accountable.

That's a lousy way to run a society or a business.