[Viewpoint] Three Key Tasks the New Government Must Urgently Pursue

Choi Jun-seon, Honorary Professor at Sungkyunkwan University School of Law

The government should not try to fulfill all the many pledges that President Yoon Seok-yeol announced during his presidential candidacy. If they do, the country will be doomed. However, as an ordinary citizen, I sincerely hope that the following three promises will definitely be kept.

First, the pledge to "abolish the Ministry of Justice Minister's investigative control authority and promote the abolition of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO)" must be fulfilled. This is not about debating the right or wrong of the CIO so far. Why should high-ranking public officials receive special investigations for their crimes? There is no constitutional basis for the establishment of the CIO. This infringes upon the right stipulated in Article 11 of the Constitution that all citizens are equal before the law and shall not be subjected to unreasonable discrimination by the state.

Second, President Yoon clearly opposed the "complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority" (Geomsu Wanbak) during his transition period, stating that delays in investigations due to this could harm the people. All laws related to Geomsu Wanbak must be restored to their original state. Around the time the Geomsu Wanbak law passed the National Assembly, even the then Speaker of the National Assembly was criticized as the worst speaker in history for allowing a one-day temporary session through 'splitting the session,' which was seen as collusion. Ignoring procedural justice is an act that destroys democracy itself. Only one person, independent lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, formerly of the Democratic Party of Korea, opposed the passage of the bill with composure according to her conscience, beyond her own safety and personal interests. Because of this one person, the people see hope for the future of the Republic of Korea.

Third, according to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s ‘National Task Implementation Plan,’ revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act are being pursued. More than 100 days have passed since this law was enacted, but the desired effects are minimal, and instead, all the problems experts anticipated are emerging one after another at work sites.

Due to the enforcement of this law, among the 13,000 construction companies in Korea, about 50 large companies are receiving consulting from law firms, around 250 companies are barely preparing countermeasures, and approximately 12,700 companies are almost doing nothing due to financial constraints. About 75% of fatal accidents occur in small-scale companies with fewer than 50 employees that lack adequate safety facilities. If this law applies to companies with fewer than 50 employees in 2024, it could become a graveyard for Korean small and medium-sized enterprises.

Receiving consulting from law firms does not reduce accident occurrences; it only wastes costs on paper work focused on defensive system maintenance and is meaningless. Even the expensive advice from law firms ultimately boils down to "take all possible measures."

In particular, even after the passage of the Geomsu Wanbak law, it is interpreted that prosecutors still have investigative authority over violations of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. According to Article 105 of the Labor Standards Act, "Investigations such as on-site inspections, document submissions, and interrogations under this law or other labor-related laws shall be exclusively conducted by prosecutors and labor inspectors." Therefore, prosecutors investigate violations of this law, the police investigate charges such as professional negligence causing death, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor investigates violations of labor-related laws. Other government agencies also simultaneously investigate or inspect accident companies according to their respective laws. This swarm of investigations throws companies into panic. Accidents must be prevented. However, accidental accidents cannot be prevented through punishment and retaliation.

Choi Jun-seon, Professor Emeritus, School of Law, Sungkyunkwan University