SMEs' Final Appeal to the National Assembly... "Urgent Need to Postpone the Enforcement of the Act on the Protection of Workers in Companies with Fewer Than 50 Employees"

Emergency Press Conference Held on the 23rd
"If This Continues, Businesses Will Close One After Another"

The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector has appealed to the National Assembly to postpone the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, scheduled for the 27th.

Jung Yun-mo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, held an urgent press conference on the 23rd at the Federation's office in Yeouido, Seoul, urging the postponement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for companies with fewer than 50 employees, and issued a statement.
[Photo by Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business]

The Korea Federation of SMEs and other SME organizations held an emergency press conference on the 23rd at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, “There is no livelihood issue more important than the concerns over SME closures and job losses for workers due to the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act,” and urged, “We ask both ruling and opposition parties to negotiate once again.” Attendees included Jung Yun-mo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Federation’s chairpersons, and vice chairpersons of the SME organizations.

The council said, “With only four days left before the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, it is regrettable and disheartening that the postponement bill has not even been submitted to the National Assembly’s Judiciary Committee,” adding, “If the Act is enforced as is, many unprepared SMEs will close down, and workers will lose their jobs.”

They continued, “We urge the ruling party and government to proactively consider establishing an Occupational Safety and Health Agency focused on prevention support,” emphasizing, “It is also necessary to expand personnel and organizational capacity to ensure the effectiveness of the recently announced measures to support industrial accident prevention by the ruling party and government.”

Furthermore, the council stated, “Regarding the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, which the Democratic Party of Korea proposed as a condition for postponement, if the agency’s core functions and operations focus on consulting and education for industrial accident prevention rather than investigation and supervision, the SME sector supports it,” and added, “During the postponement period, SMEs will strengthen their own preventive efforts such as securing safety experts, conducting risk assessments, and replacing hazardous facilities and equipment to ensure that workers can work safely in their workplaces.”