'Adding duties alone won't close safety gap for small firms,' forum says

With industrial accidents concentrated at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, experts called for a phased implementation system based on workplace size and risk level. Such a system would help small and medium-sized enterprises build stronger safety management capacity. Rather than imposing uniform safety obligations on individual workplaces, they argued, regional and sector-based joint management systems should be established.

The Korea Federation of SMEs said Wednesday it had held a "Policy Forum to Close the Industrial Safety Gap Between Large Firms and SMEs" jointly with the Industrial Safety Mutual Growth Foundation and the Korea Labor Institute. The forum examined the structural reasons behind the concentration of industrial accidents at workplaces with fewer than 50 employees and discussed safety support measures that small and medium-sized enterprises could realistically implement on-site.

Oh Ki-woong, standing vice chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, said in his opening remarks that "no business owner is unaware of the importance of safety." He added that "small and medium-sized enterprises, which struggle to secure manpower, budget and especially specialized personnel, face limits in raising their safety management capacity through their own efforts alone." He also said that "a safe workplace can only be achieved when large companies' safety management experience and expertise, government policy support and recommendations from research institutions are applied on the ground at small and medium-sized enterprises."

An Kyung-duk, chairman of the Industrial Safety Mutual Growth Foundation, said "setting standards that must be followed and making it possible to follow them must go hand in hand." He said the safety gap should be narrowed through a structure in which the government and public agencies establish prevention standards and fiscal support. Local governments and private institutions should work closely on-site to help with implementation.

Park Jong-sik, a research fellow at the Korea Labor Institute, said South Korea's industrial structure includes many small workplaces. He proposed expanding the unit of occupational safety and health policy from the "individual workplace" to a "collective unit."

For in-house subcontractors, this would mean strengthening the responsibilities and role of the primary contractor. For outside subcontractors or independent small and medium-sized enterprises, it would mean establishing joint management systems organized by region or industry. The aim is to pool manpower and expertise, given that it is difficult for each small or medium-sized enterprise to maintain its own dedicated safety specialists.

On-site support has translated into an actual reduction in accidents, according to analysis presented at the forum. Seo Jung-soo, a team leader at the Industrial Safety Mutual Growth Foundation, unveiled an analysis of an integrated support project. It showed that the accident rate at 186 firms that received support in 2024 fell 16.7 percent from the previous year. Serious accidents dropped from six cases to one, and average safety and health management assessment scores rose from 35 points to 66 points.

The panel discussion was moderated by Kang Sung-kyu, a professor at Gachon University Gil Medical Center. Participants included Yang Ok-seok, head of the manpower policy division at the Korea Federation of SMEs, and Kim Jung-min, director of the Work Environment Health Center. Lee Dong-young, a researcher at the National Assembly Research Service, also joined the discussion. Moon Byung-doo, head of the SME support office at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, participated as well. So did Kim Jun-ho, head of the industrial accident prevention support division at the Ministry of Employment and Labor. They discussed directions for supporting industrial safety at small and medium-sized enterprises.

Yang said, "To close the industrial safety gap, we need support that raises small and medium-sized enterprises' capacity to comply, not just the imposition of obligations." He added, "Rather than uniformly expanding obligations for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, we should establish a phased implementation system based on size and risk level."

The Korea Federation of SMEs said it plans to continue consultations with the government, the National Assembly and other relevant bodies based on the opinions raised at the forum, and to spread best practices in safety management through its member cooperatives and industry associations.