The Democratic Party of Korea officially rejected the ruling party and government's revised proposal on the 1st to postpone the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Punishment Act) for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees for two years, and to establish the Industrial Safety and Health Support Agency two years later. The Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which has already been in effect since the 27th of last month, will continue to be applied.
Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at a meeting with reporters after the party's caucus on the same day, "The Democratic Party has decided to adhere to the fundamental value that workers' lives and safety take precedence in industrial sites," adding, "We have decided to reject the government and ruling party's revised proposal."
The ruling and opposition parties previously negotiated following industry demands to delay the application timing of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for workplaces with 5 to 50 employees. Until now, the Democratic Party had expressed the position that if the Industrial Safety and Health Agency is newly established, the application timing of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act could be postponed for two years. Regarding this, Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, proposed a revised plan to Hong Ik-pyo the day before, suggesting to postpone the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act by two years on the condition of establishing the Industrial Safety and Health Support Agency (Sanancheong), which excludes investigative duties from the Industrial Safety and Health Agency and focuses on preventive tasks, two years later.
Although the ruling party presented a concession plan prepared by persuading the government and others who opposed the establishment of Sanancheong, the possibility of further renegotiations seems to have practically disappeared as the opposition party rejected the revised plan.
Yoon Young-duk, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said, "Judging from the atmosphere of the caucus, since the law was enforced on the 27th of last month, we emphasized the need to respect the purpose of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and to create sufficient conditions to prevent accidents from occurring in the government or industry," adding, "Regarding the difficult conditions of small and micro enterprises, rather than postponing now, the government should establish sufficient support measures." Since the law has already been enforced, support measures should be prepared rather than postponing the law.
Yoon, the floor spokesperson, added, "Since a considerable number of lawmakers were negative at the caucus, the ruling party's proposal was not accepted."
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