The Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL, Minister Lee Jung-sik) and the Korea
Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA, President Ahn Jong-ju) are inviting
submissions of risk assessment best practices from April 8 to August 23. Risk assessment,
a collaborative endeavor between employers and workers aimed at identifying and
mitigating workplace hazards, stands as the most effective measure for preventing
industrial accidents. Companies submitting exemplary cases will progress to the regional
preliminaries in October, culminating in the November main event, the Risk Assessment
Excellence Presentation Competition.

This year, the government’s policy target for preventing occupational accidents is
described as “Going into the Field.” In step, the presentation competition for risk
assessment has also shifted from a centralized to a regional and on-site focus. In contrast
to the previous year’s exclusive central finals, seven metropolitan regional competitions
have been introduced. The number of participating companies in regional evaluations
has surged more than tenfold, with jury panels predominantly comprising on-site safety
and health personnel from participating companies, enhancing practicality right from
the evaluation stage.

Furthermore, scale of awards for finalists has increased dramatically,, with the number
of Minister’s Awards multiplying from one to twelve. Additionally, for the 16 winning
companies in the final round, a post-award exemption from industrial safety and health
inspections and supervision for one year will be granted.
* However, in cases of major accidents or other exceptional circumstances, companies
will be subject to planning or special supervision.

While awareness and implementation rates of risk assessment have seen a significant
uptick owing to ongoing improvements aimed at streamlining the process, feedback
indicates that conducting risk assessments, particularly for small and medium-sized
enterprises, remains challenging. The discovery and dissemination of various best risk
assessment practices can serve as models for similar enterprises.
* Risk assessment implementation rate: from 33.8% in 2019 to 71.8% in 2024

Minister Lee Jung-sik stressed: “Operational effectiveness of risk assessment is paramount
for a deep reduction in serious accidents. We will continue to unearth and spread
innovative examples of risk assessment that can be easily adopted and implemented, even by small and medium-sized enterprises, thereby consistently enhancing the practicality of
our industrial accident prevention policy.”