Democratic Party to Decide on Party Stance Regarding Serious Accident Punishment Act on the 13th

Lawmaker Park Jumin Who Proposed the Bill: "There Are Also Opinions Within the Party to Amend the Industrial Safety Act"

Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending and speaking at the forum on corporate governance improvement and the direction of the Commercial Act amendment held at the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dongju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea will decide on the 13th whether to adopt the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act) for reducing serious accidents or to amend the existing Industrial Safety and Health Act (ISHA) as the party's official stance. The Justice Party and labor groups argue that the Serious Accidents Act, which criminally punishes business owners, is the fundamental solution, but there are many opinions within the Democratic Party that amending the ISHA, such as increasing fines, is more desirable.

On the afternoon of the 12th, Park Ju-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker who plans to propose the Serious Accidents Act, appeared on YTN Radio's "Hwang Bo-seon's Start of a New Morning" and said, "There are people (within the party) who think that this (serious accident) issue could be resolved by amending the ISHA," adding, "The party's Supreme Council will make the final coordination on this matter this Friday (13th)." The party will decide whether to pursue one of the two bills or both simultaneously at the party level.

The Serious Accidents Act proposed by Park and the Democratic Party's Labor Respect Practice Group is similar to the Justice Party's bill, except that it allows a grace period of about four years for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The Justice Party, labor groups, and civic organizations are demanding that the Democratic Party adopt it as the party's official stance.

Park said, "Since all parties agree on the need to reduce industrial accidents, there will be active discussions."

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act proposed by Justice Party lawmaker Kang Eun-mi in June imposes a duty on companies to prevent risks and stipulates that if a fatal accident occurs due to violation, the business owner and management responsible may face imprisonment for more than three years or fines ranging from 50 million to 1 billion KRW; for injury accidents, imprisonment for up to seven years or fines up to 100 million KRW. It also holds business owners, corporations, or institutions liable for punitive damages amounting to three to ten times the damage.

Regarding whether he will run in the Seoul mayoral by-election, Park said, "I am currently considering it," and added, "I think the decision regarding the primary election rules will be made around December."

Park responded sharply to questions about Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl. He said, "Despite being the current Prosecutor General, he seemed to imply that he would enter politics after retirement," adding, "This is a statement that undermines the political neutrality of the prosecution itself, and I am concerned that it could cause serious problems regarding the political neutrality of the prosecution or the neutrality of prosecutorial investigations."

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