The Korea Employers Federation urged the National Assembly to promptly amend the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which will mark its two-year implementation anniversary in January next year. There are concerns that if the Act is uniformly applied to small workplaces with fewer than 50 employees starting next year, confusion at the field level will intensify.
On the 19th, the Federation held a discussion forum on improving the Act at the Irum Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, where they made these claims. Lee Dong-geun, Vice Chairman of the Federation, said, "As the Act approaches its two-year implementation, the effect on reducing fatal accidents has not been significant, while confusion at the field due to ambiguous regulations and excessive punishments has become a reality."
He added, "There are 680,000 small businesses with fewer than 50 employees that will be subject to the law starting next year. These businesses are still inadequately prepared to comply with the Act, so if the law is enforced as is, it will be difficult for business owners to avoid criminal punishment, and the very existence of companies will be at risk."
The Serious Accidents Punishment Act mandates that business owners or management officials receive imprisonment of one year or more if a serious accident occurs at the workplace. It has been in effect since January 2022. A two-year grace period was given to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees after enforcement.
The Federation emphasized that small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are inadequately prepared for the Act and that amendments should be pursued to delay the application of the law to these companies by another two years. They also added that ambiguous parts of the law, such as the scope of management officials and their obligations, need to be revised.
Lee Dong-geun, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, is delivering a greeting at the forum on improving the Serious Accident Punishment Act held on the 19th. [Photo by Korea Employers Federation]
Jung Jin-woo, a professor in the Department of Safety Engineering at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, who presented at the forum, said, "There are many ambiguous parts in the Act causing great confusion in industrial sites," and expressed concern that "prosecution and punishment are concentrated on small and medium-sized enterprises, and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees subject to the law next year will suffer significant damage."
Seo Yong-yoon, a professor in the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering at Dongguk University, also said, "According to survey results, most workplaces with fewer than 50 employees struggle with safety management due to lack of expertise," and added, "Since management officials are already being punished under the Industrial Safety and Health Act, it is necessary to carefully reconsider the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act."
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