This is Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office, your administrative agent in Incheon and Songdo. On October 1, the National Assembly plenary session passed an amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and on the same day the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and the National Participatory Legislation Center also posted news that employers and bereaved families should note. We have selected four items.
Today’s 3 Key Points
- An amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act passed the National Assembly, imposing a penalty surcharge of up to 5% of operating profit when three or more people die from industrial accidents within one year due to violations of safety and health measures. It takes effect 6 months after promulgation.
- The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission expressed an opinion to the Ministry of Employment and Labor that an E-9 worker whose job-seeking registration validity period was exceeded by one day due to a new employer’s error should be allowed to change workplaces and be issued an employment permit.
- Enforcement Decree amendments have been pre-announced setting the criteria for calculating the living standards of equal-rank bereaved families of veterans compensation recipients (Act takes effect January 1, 2027) and the procedures for regular inspections of popular culture and arts planning businesses (Act takes effect November 20).
1. Penalty Surcharge of 5% of Operating Profit for Industrial Accident Deaths: Occupational Safety and Health Act Amendment Passes National Assembly
- What changes: If an employer violates safety and health obligations and three or more workers die from industrial accidents within the most recent one year, a penalty surcharge of up to 5% of operating profit will be imposed. If there is no operating profit or it is difficult to calculate, the surcharge will be imposed within a limit of 3 billion won. The collected surcharges go into the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Fund and are used for accident prevention.
- Request to cancel registration of repeat-offender workplaces: If a workplace that received two or more business suspensions in the most recent 3 years for accidents in which two or more people died at the same time again causes grounds for business suspension, the Minister of Employment and Labor may request the relevant administrative agencies to cancel or revoke its registration.
- Other changes: Workers, worker representatives and honorary industrial safety inspectors may request a work stoppage when there is imminent danger, and subcontractor workers may also demand a work stoppage directly from the principal contractor. The obligation to budget occupational safety and health management expenses is extended to the contractor ordering the work, and heat waves and cold waves are added as grounds for extending construction periods.
- Who is affected: Employers in construction, manufacturing and other industries; principal contractors (ordering parties) and subcontractor workplaces
- When: Takes effect 6 months after the Act is promulgated. Specific imposition criteria reflecting the nature of the violation, the ratio of deaths, efforts to implement safety measures and other factors will be set by Enforcement Decree (⚠️ check the original for the promulgation date and Enforcement Decree criteria).
- A word from the administrative agent: The amount of the surcharge will be finalized only once the Enforcement Decree is issued, but “efforts to implement safety measures” is being discussed as a mitigating factor. Keeping risk assessment records, safety training logs and records of how work stoppage requests were handled, organized by date starting now, will serve as supporting evidence at the disposition stage.
- Source: Daum News · Occupational Safety and Health Act amendment passes plenary session (October 1), Gonggong News · Occupational Safety and Health Act amendment passed (includes Ministry of Employment and Labor explanation)
2. Foreign Worker Job-Seeking Registration Validity Period: Opinion Calling for Relief When the Employer Made the Error
- What changes: A Thai national working under E-9 (non-professional employment) applied for a workplace change and was given a 3-month job-seeking registration validity period, and a new workplace was arranged through the Employment Center’s placement. However, due to an administrative error, the new employer applied for the employment permit one day after the validity period expired, putting the worker at risk of having to leave the country. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission found that the cause was not the worker’s fault and expressed an opinion to the Ministry of Employment and Labor that it should allow the workplace change and issue the employment permit.
- Legal basis: Article 25(3) of the Act on the Employment of Foreign Workers provides that, where permission to change workplaces could not be obtained due to occupational injury, illness, pregnancy, childbirth or similar reasons, the period is calculated from the date the reason ceased to exist. The Commission viewed this provision as intended to remedy the lapse of a period for which the worker is not responsible.
- Who is affected: E-9 workers in the process of changing workplaces, and employers newly hiring workers who are changing workplaces
- When: This is an opinion on an individual grievance petition (not an institutional amendment; whether it applies to other cases ⚠️ check the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s action).
- A word from the administrative agent: Within the validity period, ① the worker’s application for a workplace change, ② the employer’s application for an employment permit, and ③ the worker’s application for permission to change workplaces must all be completed. Employers should check the expiry date of the validity period on the very day they receive the placement, and submit the employment permit application a few days early.
- Source: Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission · Opinion on relief for a foreign worker whose job-seeking registration validity period lapsed due to employer error (Policy Briefing)
3. Compensation for Equal-Rank Bereaved Families of Veterans Compensation Recipients: Enforcement Decree Amendment on Living-Standard Calculation Criteria
- What changes: In line with the amendment to the Act on Support for Veterans Compensation Recipients (Act No. 21890, promulgated September 8, 2026), which allows compensation to be paid taking living standards into account when there are several bereaved family members of the same payment rank, the Enforcement Decree will set out specific criteria for calculating the living standards of equal-rank bereaved families (draft Article 14-3).
- Who is affected: Families of veterans compensation recipients in which several bereaved family members share the same rank
- When: The Act takes effect January 1, 2027; comments on the Enforcement Decree amendment are accepted until November 10 (Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs)
- A word from the administrative agent: How income and assets are reflected in the calculation criteria can only be seen in the text of the amendment (⚠️ check the original). If your household needs to decide who among equal-rank bereaved family members, such as siblings, will receive the compensation, it is advisable to prepare income and asset documents in advance once the final criteria are released.
- Source: National Participatory Legislation Center · Pre-announcement of partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Support for Veterans Compensation Recipients (Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs)
4. Regular Inspections of Registration Requirements and Administrative Disposition Criteria for Popular Culture and Arts Planning Businesses: Enforcement Decree Amendment
- What changes: In line with the amendment to the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act (Act No. 21674), which aims to improve transparency and fair trade in the popular culture and arts industry, the methods and procedures for regular inspections to verify compliance with registration requirements are newly established (draft Article 6-2) and the administrative disposition criteria are revised (draft Annex 1).
- Who is affected: Agencies and management businesses registered as popular culture and arts planning businesses, and businesses preparing to register
- When: The Act takes effect November 20, 2026; comments on the Enforcement Decree amendment are accepted until October 19 (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
- A word from the administrative agent: Once regular inspections begin, authorities will check whether the requirements met at the time of registration (office, personnel, etc.) are still being maintained. If you moved your office or changed your representative or executives after registration without filing a change of registration, sort this out before the Act takes effect in November. For the details of the disposition criteria annex, ⚠️ check the original.
- Source: National Participatory Legislation Center · Pre-announcement of partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
Deadlines to Watch This Week
- October 13: Administrative pre-announcement period closes for the Fair Trade Commission’s amended notice on leniency for self-reporting of cartels
- October 19: Comment deadline for the Enforcement Decree amendments to the Popular Culture and Arts Industry Development Act and the Mental Health Welfare Act
- October 26: Comment deadline for the Enforcement Decree amendment to the Aviation Safety Act (expanding the scope of small drones subject to reporting)
- October 31: The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission’s intensive reporting period for fraudulent receipt of government subsidies in the environmental sector (electric vehicle purchase subsidies, renewable energy support, etc.) ends
- November 10: Comment deadline for the Enforcement Decree amendment to the Act on Support for Veterans Compensation Recipients
This briefing is a guide compiled by Hwang Yunsang Administrative Agent Office based on publicly available materials. Whether it applies to an individual case must be confirmed with the competent authority.