Small and Medium Enterprises Appeal for Reconsideration of 'Serious Accident Punishment Act' Postponement

Delay of Serious Accident Punishment Act Fails "Devastating, but Hope for Passage in February National Assembly"

Although described as "regrettable and devastating," the thread of hope has not yet been abandoned. They appealed for the issue to be discussed again at the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly. This is the stance of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector accepting the failure of the two-year postponement bill for the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Punishment Act) to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The SME sector now finds itself in a situation where it must look to the National Assembly at a time when efforts should be focused on overcoming the economic crisis.

Seventeen SME associations and organizations, including the Korea Federation of SMEs and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise Associations, stated in a commentary on the 1st, "It is very regrettable and devastating that the postponement bill for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was not even submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly and failed." On the same day, the Democratic Party of Korea rejected the government and ruling party’s mediation proposal for a two-year postponement based on the establishment of the Industrial Safety Agency regarding the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applied to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The mediation proposal presented by the government and ruling party was to postpone the application of this law for two years to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees, while establishing the Industrial Safety and Health Agency demanded by the Democratic Party and opening it two years later.

On the 31st, more than 3,500 small and medium-sized enterprise representatives gathered in front of the National Assembly main building, urging for the postponement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act enforcement.

Negotiations have continued since last year, but with the failure to pass the postponement bill, the industry is in a somber mood. Bae Jo-ung, chairman of the Korea Ready-Mixed Concrete Industry Cooperative Federation, said, "It seems that politicians do not understand the situation on the ground well. Many workplaces are unaware of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, and punishment is not the solution; prevention should come first." SME associations also stated, "More than 3,500 SMEs and micro-enterprises gathered from all over the country to the National Assembly have consistently requested the postponement of the application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act as an urgent and important livelihood issue," adding, "However, with the failure of the bill, more than 830,000 small-scale SMEs and micro-enterprises face the risk of becoming potential lawbreakers." They further said, "At a time when the complex economic crisis is rapidly freezing the sentiment of SMEs in the industrial field, adding the fear of closure due to criminal punishment is an excessively harsh measure."

In fact, workplaces with 5 to fewer than 50 employees, to which the Serious Accidents Punishment Act was newly applied this time, are where the most accident-related injuries occur. From the first to third quarters of last year, there were 459 deaths from accidents subject to injury investigations, of which 267 (58.2%) occurred in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. On the 31st of last month, just four days after the expanded enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, a worker in his 30s died in a crushing accident while working at a waste aluminum collection and processing company in Gijang-gun, Busan. This workplace had 10 regular employees.

Due to the significant impact on the industry, they cannot afford to remain idle. The voice of the SME sector now turns to the February National Assembly session. Lee Jeong-min, secretary-general of the Korea Venture Business Association, said, "The fact that the ruling and opposition parties came close to an agreement suggests that it is not an impossible matter, so we should watch with hope." Jung Yoon-mo, executive vice president of the Korea Federation of SMEs, also said, "SME owners fully understand that the life and health of workers are of utmost importance," and "We earnestly appeal for this bill to be discussed and passed again at the remaining February extraordinary session of the National Assembly."