Official Statement on the First Plan for Rationalizing Economic Criminal Penalties
The small and medium-sized business sector has expressed its support for the ruling party and government’s announcement of the “First Plan for Rationalizing Economic Criminal Penalties,” which sets the abolition of the criminal breach of trust under the Criminal Act as its basic direction.
On September 30, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business released a statement saying, “If the criminal breach of trust under the Criminal Act-which has long been criticized for its vague requirements and broad scope, thereby discouraging corporate management activities-is abolished, it is expected to greatly revitalize business activity.”
The federation further stated, “We believe that various improvement measures, such as converting criminal penalties to fines, will help restore livelihoods by resolving the issue where small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners have faced the risk of criminal punishment due to inexperienced administrative handling or minor violations.”
Earlier that morning, the ruling party and government held a task force meeting on rationalizing civil liability for economic crimes at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and announced the first plan for improving economic criminal penalties. The plan includes the abolition of the criminal breach of trust under the Criminal Act as a basic principle, while also stating that reasonable follow-up measures will be developed in the future.
The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business commented, “It is especially meaningful that the government and ruling party have actively gathered input from economic organizations and swiftly developed measures, as evidenced by the inclusion of proposals made through initiatives such as the ‘SME Express Hotline’ and the ‘Consultative Meeting for Rationalizing Civil Liability for Economic Crimes in SMEs.’ We hope that there will continue to be active consideration and substantial legal amendments regarding regulatory improvements for economic criminal penalties as proposed by the SME sector.”
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