Daegum Launches 'Serious Accident Investigation Support Task Force'... Distributes 'Guidelines and Charging Standards' to Field Offices Before Law Enforcement on 27th

Supreme Prosecutors' Office Forms 'Serious Accident Investigation Support Task Force.' / Provided by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Punishment Law), the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has launched the 'Serious Accidents Investigation Support Task Force.'

On the 27th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office plans to prepare and distribute to local prosecutors' offices a sentencing guideline containing an explanatory book on the punishment provisions and standards for sentencing before the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Law.

On the 18th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that it had launched the 'Serious Accidents Investigation Support Task Force,' led by Deputy Prosecutor General Park Seong-jin, consisting of two teams: the Serious Industrial Accidents Team under the Public Investigation Department and the Serious Civil Accidents Team under the Criminal Department.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office stated, "In preparation for the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Law, we decided to establish and operate the 'Serious Accidents Investigation Support Task Force' at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to swiftly and strictly exercise prosecutorial authority over serious accident cases that infringe on the lives and safety of the public." It added, "The task force will reorganize the work system related to serious accidents, improve the investigation system including cooperation with related agencies and strengthening investigative capabilities, and prepare and implement various support measures for serious accident cases that threaten public safety through thorough victim support activities."

Additionally, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said, "In January, after holding meetings to form each team and derive detailed solutions for tasks, we plan to hold team meetings at least once a month to develop specific promotion plans." It added, "We will faithfully support frontline investigations of serious accident cases and work closely with related agencies such as the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and the police to ensure the effective enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Law."

The task force was organized into two teams considering that serious accidents under the Serious Accidents Punishment Law are classified into serious industrial accidents and serious civil accidents.

Article 2 (Definitions) Clause 1 of the Serious Accidents Punishment Law defines serious accidents as serious industrial accidents and serious civil accidents. Clause 2 of the same article defines serious industrial accidents under the Industrial Safety and Health Act as accidents where ▲ one or more deaths occur ▲ two or more injuries requiring treatment for six months or longer occur from the same accident ▲ three or more cases of occupational diseases such as acute poisoning caused by the same harmful factor occur within one year.

Clause 3 of the same article defines serious civil accidents as accidents caused by defects in the design, manufacture, installation, or management of specific raw materials or manufactured goods, public facilities, or public transportation means, resulting in ▲ one or more deaths ▲ ten or more injuries requiring treatment for two months or longer from the same accident ▲ ten or more cases of diseases requiring treatment for three months or longer caused by the same factor.

The task force announced that it will promote four detailed operational tasks: ▲ improvement of work division ▲ investigation cooperation measures ▲ strengthening investigative capabilities ▲ victim support activities.

First, the task force plans to designate prosecutors in charge of safety accidents at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and local prosecutors' offices and establish a cooperation system with related agencies such as the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the police.

Currently, the Ministry of Labor holds primary investigative authority over industrial accidents, and the police hold it over civil accidents, so the Supreme Prosecutors' Office emphasized the importance of the prosecution's coordinating role to prevent overlapping investigations and promote cooperation.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office plans to enhance the expertise of prosecutors and investigators related to serious accidents, prepare prosecution maintenance plans and sentencing guidelines, and also form an advisory group of expert psychological committee members.

Furthermore, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office is preparing victim support activities, including establishing a legal aid response system and supporting litigation such as claims for damages.

Since launching the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Law Response TF' in March last year, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office implemented revisions to the 'Labor and Group Crime Sentencing Guidelines' in May of the same year. After holding a joint academic conference with the Labor Law Theory and Practice Society in October last year, it has been producing the 'Penalty Commentary' and 'Sentencing Guidelines' for the Serious Accidents Punishment Law. These materials are scheduled to be distributed to local prosecutors' offices before the law's enforcement on the 27th.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Law contains provisions to punish business owners and management officials who fail to fulfill their responsibilities to prevent serious accidents such as worker fatalities.

Originally, this law was introduced to ensure that business owners and management officials comply with safety and health measures to prevent serious accidents, but concerns have arisen that unclear definitions and ambiguous scopes of responsibility in the event of accidents may cause considerable confusion in the field during the initial enforcement period.

The Serious Accidents Punishment Law was enacted on January 26 last year but was postponed for enforcement until one year after its promulgation, and it will be enforced from the 27th of this month. Additionally, the law will apply from January 27, 2024, to workplaces with fewer than 50 regular employees and construction projects with a contract amount under 5 billion KRW.