The Supreme Court has upheld a prison sentence for a company chief under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for the first time since its enactment nearly two years ago.

The top bench on Thursday confirmed the appellate court's one-year term for the CEOO of Hankook Steel and Mill Company.

In March 2022, a contract worker in his 60s died at the company's plant in Haman, South Gyeongsang Province after a one-point-two-ton heat sink dropped from a crane.

While prosecutors indicted three people, including the head of the contractor as well as the company chief who was sentenced to one year for violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The appellate court rejected an appeal, saying it would be difficult to consider the punishment heavy, citing a sufficient grace period granted following the enforcement of the law and the company's past violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.