Seoul: Companies that experience at least three industrial accident deaths annually will be subjected to fines up to 5 percent of their operating profit, announced the labor ministry on Monday. Under the newly proposed industrial safety measures, the government is set to revise existing laws to revoke licenses of companies that consistently report fatal work accidents.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry revealed a series of punitive measures in response to fatal accidents occurring at construction companies this year, with POSCO E and C being a notable case. The incidents led to the resignation of the company’s CEO last month. The ministry aims to reduce the nation’s industrial accident death rate from 0.39 per 10,000 people to the OECD average of 0.29 by 2030.

The proposed measures include a regulation that allows the ministry to cancel registrations of construction companies responsible for repeated serious industrial accidents. If a company is suspended from business three times within three years due to such incidents, it will face deregistration and subsequent prohibition from all business activities.

Furthermore, companies that record at least three industrial accident deaths each year will face fines starting at 3 billion won (US$2.16 million) and potentially reaching 5 percent of their operating profit. These fines will be calculated based on the number of deaths and accidents, with the collected funds reinvested into preventive measures against future industrial accidents.

Publicly listed companies experiencing serious industrial accidents will be mandated to disclose such incidents on the day a criminal verdict is issued. Vice Labor Minister Kwon Chang-jun addressed concerns from businesses about the penalties, stating that the penalties would not apply if preventive measures are effectively implemented.