Democratic Party Unable to Process Within Regular Session
People Power Party Leans Toward 'Caution'
Kang Eun-mi "Must Do Before Kim Yong-gyun's 2nd Anniversary"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] The three major parties in the National Assembly?the Democratic Party, the People Power Party, and the Justice Party?have proposed the Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act (Serious Accident Act), but it is unlikely that the bill will be passed within this year. This is because the Serious Accident Act has been pushed down the legislative priority list of the Democratic Party, and the People Power Party is also taking a cautious stance. The Justice Party has begun a sit-in at the National Assembly, urging the two major parties to legislate.
According to the National Assembly Legislative Information System on the 4th, the bill proposed by Im E-ja, the People Power Party's floor leader on the Environment and Labor Committee, stipulates that if a death occurs due to the employer or management officer violating safety and health obligations, they shall be punished with imprisonment for more than five years or a fine of up to 100 million won. In this regard, there is little difference from the Democratic Party lawmaker Park Joo-min’s bill (imprisonment for more than two years or a fine of over 500 million won) or the Justice Party floor leader Kang Eun-mi’s bill (imprisonment for more than three years or a fine between 50 million and 1 billion won).
However, the bills proposed by each party differ in terms of the subjects of punishment, scope of application, and punitive damages. In terms of subjects of punishment, the Democratic Party and Justice Party bills include public officials, but the People Power Party bill excludes them. Regarding the scope of application, the Democratic Party bill allows a four-year grace period for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, whereas the People Power Party and Justice Party bills apply to all workplaces. As for punitive damages, the Democratic Party bill stipulates at least five times the amount of damages, the Justice Party bill sets it between three to ten times, but the People Power Party bill does not include this provision at all.
The Democratic Party has already declared that passing the Serious Accident Act within the regular session of the National Assembly is impossible. On the 20th of last month, Choi In-ho, the Democratic Party’s chief spokesperson, said, “Considering that the Serious Accident Act is a statutory law that requires procedures such as public hearings under the National Assembly Act, we have confirmed that it cannot be passed during this regular session,” but added, “However, we will definitely push for it.”
The People Power Party is also leaning toward a cautious approach. On the 2nd, Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said regarding whether the party would adopt the Serious Accident Act as its official stance, “We are currently in discussions about the Serious Accident Act,” and added, “We may accept (Im’s bill) or make amendments.” The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a public hearing on the Serious Accident Act that day to hear expert testimonies, but People Power Party lawmakers did not attend. The People Power Party continues to boycott the Judiciary Committee in protest against the unilateral conduct of meetings by Yoon Ho-jung, the committee chairman from the Democratic Party.
The Justice Party is pressuring the two major parties by staging a sit-in on the stairs in front of the Rotunda Hall at the National Assembly. On the 4th, Floor Leader Kang said on MBC Radio, “It is fully possible to pass (the bill) within the regular session. Since consensus has already been reached between the ruling and opposition parties, only minor disagreements need to be adjusted,” and emphasized, “The second anniversary of Kim Yong-gyun’s death is on the 10th, and before that, the National Assembly must enact a law to prevent workers from dying.”
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