Stronger 'Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act'... Will It Pass the National Assembly This Time?

Justice Party's 'First Bill'... Strengthening to Over 3 Years Imprisonment Including Life Sentence

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Attention is focused on whether the 'Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act,' which is even stronger than the proposal by the late Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party, can pass the 21st National Assembly. The Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act strengthens criminal penalties on business owners when workers die or are injured due to negligence in safety management. The need for this legislation has been consistently raised whenever industrial accidents occur, such as the Guui Station screen door accident and deaths at coal-fired power plants.

The Justice Party held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 11th, stating, "The 21st National Assembly must respond to the desperate voices of the people asking to stop the procession of deaths," and introduced the Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act as their first bill. Justice Party lawmaker Kang Eun-mi pointed out, "About 300 people suffer industrial accidents daily, and nearly six workers die each day," adding, "The responsibility of the National Assembly, which has failed to fulfill its legislative duties, is very great."

The core of this law is to impose a prison sentence of three years or more, or a fine ranging from 50 million to 1 billion won, if a business owner violates the duty to prevent hazards and risks, resulting in a person's death. The proposal by the late Roh Hoe-chan, introduced in the 20th National Assembly, stipulated imprisonment of one year or more or a fine between 30 million and 300 million won. However, the bill was not passed at the time, citing excessive burden on companies.

The Democratic Party of Korea appears not to be rushing immediately. On the 28th of last month, Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "To raise awareness of industrial safety, we must change the lenient punishments," and added, "The Democratic Party will prepare improvements to laws and systems for accident prevention based on the Ministry of Employment and Labor's research results."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has stepped up pressure for the bill's passage. On the 10th, KCTU held a large-scale rally with over 4,000 participants on the main road next to Yeouido Park in Seoul, strongly condemning the government, ruling party, and the 21st National Assembly for "claiming to prioritize life safety and a working National Assembly but failing to legislate," and urged for the bill's enactment.

On that day, KCTU also released a list of lawmakers who supported the Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act. According to them, 26 lawmakers from the Democratic Party, including Song Young-gil, Park Joo-min, Lee Tan-hee, Ko Min-jung, Kim Ju-young, and Lee Hyung-seok, supported the bill. Lawmakers from the Justice Party (6 members), Open Democratic Party (3 members), and Basic Income Party (1 member) also expressed support. There were no supporters from the United Future Party. Previously, KCTU had requested official responses regarding support or opposition from the elected members of the 21st National Assembly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.