A new law punishing corporate management for failing to prevent serious disasters went into effect on Thursday. 

Owners of workplaces with more than 50 workers or construction sites where expenses exceed five billion won will be subject to the Serious Accident Punishment Act(SAPA).

Under the law, an incident that results in at least one death or in two people requiring more than six months of treatment for injuries in the workplace will be regarded as a “serious accident.”

The new law will hold business owners or CEOs responsible for the work-related deaths of their hires with a prison term of one year or more and a fine of up to one billion won. The corporations or institutions involved will also face a fine of up to five billion won. 

Meanwhile, the nation’s major business organizations expressed deep regret over the SAPA and called on the government to make improvements to minimize any side effects. 

The Korea Enterprises Federation said in a statement that the law was enacted without any improvements, adding that the guidelines that the government has provided are vague and misleading.