Abstract

Purpose: With the acceleration of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (SAPA) in 2024, the establishment of effective safety management systems in corporate research institutes has become critical. This study aims to quantitatively determine the impact of Managerial Safety Failure on Physical-Technical Risks (chemical, mechanical, electrical, etc.) using detailed safety inspection data. Research design, data and methodology: The study utilized raw data from detailed safety inspections collected directly from 100 corporate research institutes (N=100) in the metropolitan area in 2025. The core variable, risk level, was quantified using the Risk Weight Index (RWI) derived from the Korea Risk Assessment System (KRAS), applying differential weights based on hazard severity. Results: First, managerial safety failure showed a statistically significant positive correlation with all physical-technical risk factors (p<.001), peaking in Chemical Safety (r=.897). Second, hierarchical regression confirmed that managerial failure is a decisive predictor, explaining 80.7% of the variance in chemical safety risk. Conclusions: This study proves that the absence of a managerial safety system is a key leading indicator amplifying potential risks into actual accidents. Consequently, corporate safety management must shift from a 'paperwork-centered' approach to an 'on-site operational effectiveness-centered' paradigm prioritizing real-time hazard prevention.