National Assembly Plenary Session Without Ruling and Opposition Agreement
Countdown to Application for Workplaces with Fewer Than 50 Employees on the 27th
Opposition: "Already Postponed Once... No Effort to Supplement"
With the Serious Accident Punishment Act set to be fully applied to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees starting on the 27th, two days from now, the Democratic Party criticized the government and ruling party, saying, "They have made no effort whatsoever to apply the law to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees."
According to political circles on the 25th, the plenary session of the National Assembly was held at 2:30 PM without any agreement between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the "postponement of the application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees." Since the bill to postpone the law was not included on the plenary session agenda, the Serious Accident Punishment Act is expected to be fully enforced for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees starting on the 27th. Unless a dramatic agreement is reached today, further postponement appears difficult.
Park Ju-min, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader, wrote on Facebook that "when the Serious Accident Punishment Act was enacted in 2021, a two-year postponement for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees was already considered due to the gap with large-scale workplaces." He questioned, "What has the government and ruling party done during the two years since the law's enforcement?" and pointedly asked, "Like Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman, said, have they made any effort to bridge the gap and make improvements?" Park’s remarks were a rebuttal to Han’s statement at the People Power Party’s emergency committee meeting held that day, where he said, "We need to consider the gap between large corporations and workplaces with fewer than 50 employees."
Park criticized, "Meanwhile, the Democratic Party has repeatedly requested the government and ruling party to establish the Industrial Safety and Health Agency and create a roadmap to prevent serious accidents. However, the government and ruling party have insisted only on postponement without proposing anything until today."
He added, "It is inappropriate to speak as if you are concerned now when no effort has been made," and said, "If Chairman Han feels the need to prevent serious accidents, he should apologize for the government and ruling party’s indifference so far and say that they will fully support and take care to work together to prevent harm."
The Serious Accident Punishment Act is a law that imposes criminal penalties such as imprisonment or fines on business owners if fatal accidents occur at industrial sites. It was introduced in 2021 under the Moon Jae-in administration, led by the Democratic Party and the Justice Party. However, considering company size, its application to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees was postponed for three years.
However, the government, ruling party, and industry sectors argue that applying the Serious Accident Punishment Act to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees would stifle the business activities of small enterprises and have called for an additional two-year postponement. The People Power Party held a rally on the same day urging the passage of the postponement bill for the Serious Accident Punishment Act. President Yoon Suk-yeol also requested postponement during his remarks at the Cabinet meeting, saying, "Small businesses on the ground feel like they are being pushed onto thin ice."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
