The Serious Accidents Punishment Act will apply to all workplaces with five employees or more starting Saturday.

Accordingly, the 837-thousand workplaces with five to 50 employees to which the law will newly apply to must establish safety and health management systems to prevent major accidents and foster safer work environments.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act mandates business owners establish and implement safety and health management systems.

The act calls on businesses to define safety goals and management directions and to identify and improve hazards and safety risks while setting aside budgets for safety, crafting emergency response manuals, and taking other necessary measures.

Business owners or managers face up to a year in prison or one billion won in fines if shoddy safety management leads to workplace deaths.

Saturday marked the end of the two-year grace period for businesses with less than 50 employees since the law was promulgated in January 2021.

The government and ruling People Power Party had pushed for an additional two-year grace period in response to calls by small and mid-sized businesses for more time, but no agreement with the opposition Democratic Party could be reached.

To minimize workplace chaos, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to assist companies with fewer than 50 employees in building safety and health management systems.