What Changed in the 2026 Occupational Safety and Health Act Amendments
The amended Occupational Safety and Health Act and Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act were promulgated on February 19, 2026, and their enforcement decrees took effect on August 1. The reform rests on two pillars: the introduction of safety and health disclosure and new penalties for failing to conduct risk assessments. Risk assessment was already a legal duty but carried no penalty. It is now an obligation backed by fines.
This is different from preparing for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act or ISO 45001. The Serious Accidents Punishment Act assigns liability after an accident happens. Under the new rules, you can be fined for skipping required procedures even if no accident ever occurs. A clean safety record is no longer a defense on its own.
When the Rules Apply to Your Company
Safety and health disclosure
Risk assessment fines
For an SME with around 50 employees, what arrives in January 2027 is the risk assessment fine regime, not disclosure. If your headcount is close to 50, start by calculating your number of regular employees accurately so you know which deadline applies.
How the Risk Assessment Fines Work
The most common trap is a risk assessment that exists only on paper. If you have the assessment forms but no meeting minutes or signatures showing worker participation, and no record of posting or training on the results, you will struggle to avoid a fine even though the assessment was technically done.
Five Items Your Safety and Health Disclosure Must Cover
Disclosure is mandatory for workplaces with 500+ employees and builders with KRW 120 billion or more in annual construction work, and failing to disclose can bring fines of up to KRW 10 million. SMEs with around 50 employees are not required to disclose, but tracking the same items helps when prime contractors request data. The bigger issue is visibility. Disclosures are open to prime contractors, clients, and job seekers, so they work as a reputation signal that can affect supplier selection and hiring.
A 100-Day Checklist for SMEs With 50+ Employees
About 100 days remain before the January 2027 deadline. We recommend splitting the time into three phases.
Phase 1 (September–October): Lay the Groundwork
Phase 2 (November): Assess and Document
Phase 3 (December): Organize Evidence and Final Check
If budget is tight, combine the free consulting offered by the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) with its risk assessment certification program.
Covering Disclosure and ISO 45001 in One Effort
ISO 45001 clauses on hazard and risk assessment (6.1), worker consultation and participation (5.4), and performance evaluation (9.1) overlap heavily with the disclosure items. If you manage disclosure data and certification audit records in one system, you avoid building the same evidence twice. In public procurement and prime contractor supplier assessments, presenting your disclosure alongside certification also strengthens your credibility.
How KITIM Supports Safety and Health Compliance
KITIM guides you step by step: calculating your headcount, confirming your deadline, diagnosing gaps in your risk assessment process, and helping you prepare data for prime contractors' disclosures. We also advise on building an ISO 45001 system around these requirements and matching you with government cost-support programs. With the deadline close, now is the time to check where your company stands. Reach out through KITIM's consultation request to get started.