Oh Young-hwan and Seo Young-kyo, Members of Parliament, Lead Passage of Public Officials' Industrial Accident Compensation Act
Over 13,000 Firefighters' Petitions Submitted to Introduce Presumption of Work-Related Injury System
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] When public officials performing hazardous duties contract illnesses or die during their duties, until now, the public official themselves or their bereaved family had to prove it was a 'work-related injury,' but from now on, the state will take responsibility. The Korean Federation of Public Officials' Unions, National Fire Safety Public Officials Labor Union, welcomed the passage of the 'Public Officials Injury Compensation Act' through the National Assembly Standing Committee on the 17th.
On this day, Hong Soon-tak, Chairman of the Korean Federation of Public Officials' Firefighters Union, said regarding the 'Public Officials Injury Compensation Act' that passed the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee the previous day, "If the 'Presumption of Work-Related Injury System' is introduced, it is expected to provide great comfort and reassurance to firefighters who are exposed to harmful substances or risk factors to protect the safety and lives of the public, suffer from severe illnesses, and fight fires."
The Presumption of Work-Related Injury System essentially recognizes an injury as work-related when a public official experiences an injury during duty, and places the burden of proof of causality on the state.
The current Public Officials Injury Compensation Act places the burden of proving that an illness or death of a firefighter during duty is a 'work-related injury' on the public official themselves or their bereaved family, who are non-medical experts.
The Korean Federation of Public Officials' Firefighters Union, together with Representative Oh Young-hwan, who originally proposed this law on November 9, 2020, and Seo Young-kyo, Chair of the Administrative Safety Committee, has been pushing for an amendment to the Public Officials Injury Compensation Act to recognize illnesses and deaths of hazardous duty public officials as 'work-related injuries' unless evidence shows otherwise.
This system is commonly implemented in advanced countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, where standards such as minimum years of service are set according to the type of disease, and if a public official has worked in a specific duty for a certain period and contracts a disease specified by law, it is recognized as a 'work-related injury.'
The Korean Federation of Public Officials' Firefighters Union has worked hard for the amendment through National Assembly press conferences, persuading members of the Administrative Safety Committee, delivering 13,279 firefighter signatures urging the introduction of the Presumption of Work-Related Injury System to the Democratic Party, and media promotion.
Representative Oh, a former firefighter who proposed this law, emphasized, "If the Presumption of Work-Related Injury System is introduced, public officials will feel reassured that the state will bear the risks of their duties just as they protect the public in any danger," adding, "The state protecting firefighters' safety is equivalent to protecting the safety of the people."
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