Fatal accidents occurred at two businesses with fewer than 50 employees since a law punishing employers for industrial accidents took effect for small businesses last Saturday.

According to the labor ministry, a 46-year-old Chinese national died in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province on Wednesday, after falling from the roof of a livestock shelter while installing a solar panel.

On the same day, a 37-year-old worker died at a business that collects and treats aluminum waste in Busan after being caught between clamp machinery and a cargo box.

The two businesses normally have eleven and ten laborers at a time, respectively, and are both subject to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

The ministry has suspended relevant operations at both workplaces before looking into possible violations of the act as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, enforced since 2022, business owners face a minimum one-year prison term or a fine of up to one billion won which is around 751-thousand U.S. dollars, upon the death or serious injury of an employee in the workplace.