Workplace Safety: Your Rights and What to Do After an Accident

Your rights

Safety and health training The company must give safety and health training when it hires a worker, when the type of work changes, and regularly. You can ask for the explanation in a language you understand.

Safety gear Workers who do dangerous work must get safety gear that fits the job. The company must give at least one set per worker. Examples are helmets, safety shoes, safety glasses, dust masks, safety harnesses, earplugs, and chemical-resistant gloves. It is wrong to make workers pay for this gear.

Right to stop work If there is an immediate danger of an industrial accident (an injury or illness caused by work), you can stop work and leave the area. If you had a reasonable reason to believe there was danger, the company cannot fire you or treat you unfairly.

Health checkups The company must have workers take a general health checkup. Work with harmful factors such as noise, dust, or chemicals needs a special health checkup. You have the right to receive and see your own results.

Common accidents and key ways to prevent them

1. Forklifts: Do not walk behind or beside a forklift. Make sure the driver has made eye contact with you. No one should stand on or under the forks. When you hear the reversing alarm, stop and stand still.
2. Presses and cutting machines: Always turn off the power before you put your hand in. Do not remove safety devices (guard covers, light sensors) and use the machine. Many serious injuries happen when material gets stuck and a worker puts a hand in without stopping the machine.
3. Falls: When working 2 meters high or higher, wear a safety harness and attach it. Do not lean out to the side while on a ladder. Roofs, skylights, and scaffolding are especially dangerous.
4. Getting caught in machines: When cleaning or repairing conveyors, rollers, or rotating shafts, turn off the power and lock it so it cannot turn on again. Gloves, sleeves, and long hair can get pulled in.
5. Confined spaces: Tanks, manholes, septic tanks, grain storage bins, and underground pits may not have enough oxygen or may have toxic gas. Before entering, the oxygen and toxic gas levels must be measured. Safe air has oxygen of 18% or more and less than 23.5%. If you go in without protection to save a coworker who has collapsed, you can die too. Stay outside, call 119, and first let fresh air in.
6. Pesticides and chemicals: Check the warning labels on containers and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Wear a gas mask and protective gloves. Do not pour chemicals into a different container.
7. Heat waves: Shade, water, and rest are the basics. If you feel dizzy or feel like throwing up, go to a cool place right away.
8. Cold waves: Change out of wet clothes right away. If you cannot feel your hands or feet, go inside. When you use a heater, let fresh air in to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Rest rules in hot weather

From July 17, 2025, the 산업안전보건기준에 관한 규칙 (Rules on Occupational Safety and Health Standards) became stricter.

• If you work for 2 hours or more where the "feels-like" temperature is 31°C or higher, the company must do at least one of these: install cooling or ventilation equipment, change working hours, or give regular rest breaks.
• If the "feels-like" temperature is 33°C or higher, the company must give a rest of at least 20 minutes every 2 hours. A rest of at least 10 minutes every 1 hour is also allowed. This is not a suggestion. It is a duty.
• If the nature of the work makes rest breaks very hard to give, the company can instead give personal cooling devices or cooling clothes.

When an accident happens

1. Move the injured person to a safe place and call 119. In confined-space or electric-shock accidents, the rescuer is also in danger, so do not go in yourself.
2. Take photos and videos of the accident place, the machine, and the injured body part.
3. Write down the names and phone numbers of coworkers who saw the accident.
4. At the hospital, say "I was injured at work," and make sure this is written in your medical record.
5. Apply for 산재 (industrial accident compensation) at 근로복지공단 (Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service). You can apply without your employer's agreement.
6. If an accident causes a death or requires 3 or more days off work, the company must submit an 산업재해조사표 (industrial accident investigation report) to the 지방고용노동관서 (regional office of the 고용노동부, Ministry of Employment and Labor) within 1 month.

Things to watch out for

• Sometimes the company says, "If you report this as a work accident, the company will lose money," and asks you to hide it. Hiding an industrial accident is against the law.
• Sometimes workers only sign a paper for safety training but do not actually get the training. You must actually receive the training.
• If your safety gear is old or does not fit, you can ask for a new one.
• In case you need to report something, it helps to collect photos, work schedules, and message records as you go.

Frequently asked questions

Q. My company says it will cut my pay because I stopped work. A. If you had a reason to believe there was immediate danger, the company cannot treat you unfairly. Call 1350 for advice.

Q. Safety training is given only in Korean. A. You need to receive training in a way you can understand. Ask your company. If nothing changes, call 1350 for advice.

Q. If I report a dangerous place, will my company find out? A. As a rule, the identity of the person who reports is protected. You can also report anonymously (without giving your name).

Q. Can I report danger even if no accident has happened? A. Yes. Use the dangerous situation report on the 고용노동부 Labor Portal or use 안전신문고.

Where to get help

• Emergency: 119
• 고용노동부 Customer Counseling Center: 1350 (weekdays 09:00~18:00)
• 고용노동부 Labor Portal, dangerous situation report: labor.moel.go.kr
• 안전신문고 (Safety Report): www.safetyreport.go.kr (there is also an app)
• 근로복지공단 (industrial accident compensation): 1588-0075
• If you need an interpreter: 1345