In Korea, it sometimes happens that the individual who should take responsibility in the face of an accident is too easily able to neglect his duty, as exemplified by cases such as scandals arising from cosy relations between the government of the day and chaebols, or the captain of a ship or conductor being able to retreat from the location of an accident. Why do they act with such selfishness? This study focuses on a selection of Korean occupational ethics in the context of the identification system and Confucianism of the Li dynasty. The points clarified in this paper are as follows. Merchants and craftworkers established their own occupational ethics despite the Yangban’s disdain for them from the point of view of the identification system and Confucianism. The problem is that occupational ethics could not be established among the Yangban. In addition, there is the effect of the absence of Yangbando (similar to Bushido) leading to a lack of awareness of job responsibility. It is essential for the top of the organisation to （1） respect the work of merchants and craftworkers, （2） reeducate the‘nobles oblige’ and （3） revive an ethical spirit like the Seonbi spirit that once existed in Korea.
