Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Agree on Postponing Application of Serious Accident Punishment Act... "Negotiations Until Tomorrow's Plenary Session"

On the 24th, the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties discussed the issue of passing a bill to postpone the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act) to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, but they failed to reach a consensus. The ruling and opposition parties agreed to continue negotiations until the plenary session scheduled for tomorrow.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, discussed the issue of handling the Serious Accidents Act during a closed-door meeting chaired by National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on the same day.

The Serious Accidents Act will include workplaces with 50 or fewer employees, which had previously been exempt from punishment, starting from the 27th. The industrial sector and others have requested a postponement of 2 to 3 years, citing insufficient preparation. The People Power Party supports postponement due to the burden on the industry, while the Democratic Party insists on establishing the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) as a condition for passing the bill to ensure solid follow-up measures, since a postponement has already been granted.

Speaker of the National Assembly Jinpyo Kim and floor leaders Jaeok Yoon and Higpyo Hong of the ruling and opposition parties

After the meeting, Floor Leader Yoon told reporters, "There was a meeting of floor leaders of both parties chaired by the National Assembly Speaker regarding tomorrow’s plenary session," adding, "There was a discussion specifically about the Serious Accidents Act, but since there are still differences in positions between the ruling and opposition parties, no agreement has been reached." He added, "We agreed to continue consultations until tomorrow morning if necessary."

Regarding the possibility of compromise, such as accepting the opposition party’s demand to establish the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, Floor Leader Yoon said, "Since opinions have not yet been narrowed down, it is not a situation I can comment on now." Earlier, Kim Ki-moon, president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, also appealed to the floor leaders of both parties to postpone the application of the Serious Accidents Act.

In political circles, because procedures such as passing the National Assembly plenary session and Cabinet approval are required for the expanded application of the Serious Accidents Act, the plenary session on the 25th is regarded as a kind of deadline for postponing punishment.