2-Year Grace Period Amendment... Enforcement on 27th if No Agreement
Ruling Party "Must Consider Workplace Gaps"... Urges Last-Minute Agreement
Opposition "No Response to Industrial Safety Agency's Request, Ruling Party Responsible"
The ruling and opposition parties have yet to narrow their differences until the last minute over the amendment bill to postpone the expanded application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act to 'businesses with fewer than 50 employees' by two years. The Democratic Party of Korea, which holds the key to passing the bill, is demanding prerequisites such as the 'establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency.' The People Power Party finds this difficult to accept. Both parties are expected to use the final negotiation results as a 'general election agenda' to appeal to their respective support bases.
On the 25th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, plan to continue tug-of-war negotiations over the amendment to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act until the plenary session at 2 p.m. Although there is a possibility of a dramatic agreement at the last minute, it does not seem easy. The two met the previous afternoon under the mediation of National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo but failed to reach an agreement.
People Power Party Floor Leader Yoon Jae-ok is speaking at the emergency committee meeting held at the Yeouido party headquarters on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
If the 'two-year postponement' amendment is not submitted to the plenary session, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act will be expanded to cover businesses with fewer than 50 employees starting from the 27th. The law stipulates that if a serious accident occurs, management officials may face imprisonment for more than one year or a fine of up to 1 billion won. Originally, this law was enforced on January 27, 2022, but its application to businesses with fewer than 50 employees was postponed for two years. The business community is again appealing for a postponement of application to small-scale businesses, citing lack of preparation. On the ruling party side, Representative Im I-ja has proposed a 'two-year re-postponement bill,' which is currently pending in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
The Democratic Party has set prerequisites for discussing the postponement, including the 'establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency' and 'securing a 2 trillion won budget for industrial accident prevention.' If the ruling party changes its stance and accepts some of these conditions, a dramatic agreement could be reached. However, considering that the full meeting of the Judiciary Committee must be convened and the 'two-year re-postponement bill' processed before the 2 p.m. plenary session, there is physically insufficient time. Some have suggested holding an additional plenary session on the 26th through bipartisan agreement, but according to the National Assembly Act, a plenary session must be announced three days in advance, making this option difficult to realize.
Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Hong Ik-pyo is holding a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on the 25th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
The ruling and opposition parties continued to engage in a 'blame game.' Han Dong-hoon, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, urged a 'two-year postponement' at the emergency committee meeting that morning, saying, "If the law is applied to businesses with fewer than 50 employees in the same way as large corporations, it will cause serious damage to small business owners and the working-class people employed there." Floor leader Yoon Jae-ok sharply criticized, "If the Democratic Party ignores the desperate situation of small and medium-sized enterprises to gain the help of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, how will they bear the consequences?"
Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "The government and ruling party have not apologized for the lack of proper preparation over the past two years and have not responded to any of the conditions I mentioned." He added, "The government and ruling party, which rejected even the Democratic Party's demand to create a minimum safety net, must take full responsibility."
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