A Comparative Study on the Legal System for Risk Assessment in the Workplace

Objectives: By comparing and analyzing the legal system for risk assessment in South Korea with other advanced countries, the study is designed to identify the key elements of risk assessment and seek improvement measures while focusing on solutions to the execution of risk assessment violations. Methods: The study started with an awareness of the need to improve the legislation on the risk assessment of businesses in Korea. In order to reflect this problem consciousness in Korea's industrial safety and health legislation, risk assessment legislation in Japan, Britain, Germany, and Korea was analyzed in comparative terms through the literature. Results: Unlike the other advanced countries, the concept of risk assessment is defined in Korea in a broad sense that includes measures to reduce risk, and risk assessment in the manufacturing and design stages is not institutionalized. In the case of worker participation, there is a problem regarding effectiveness. It is problematic that compared to the other foreign countries there is a possibility that general risk assessment will be neutralized because it is recognized as a uniform general risk assessment for a particular risk assessment, as well as inadequate risk assessment. Conclusions: The areas diagnosed with problems compared to the legislation in other advanced countries should be improved by revising laws and administrative rules and supplementing the explanatory guidelines, etc. by referring to the legislation of these countries. In particular, the issue of enforcement for violations of risk assessment must be improved in order to ensure the effectiveness of risk assessment.

사업장 위험성평가에 관한 법제의 비교법적 고찰