People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy criticizes the government's Serious Accident Punishment Act proposal: "The intent is being undermined... People are dying"

Baek Hye-ryun, Chairperson of the Legislation Review Subcommittee 1 of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee, is attending the Legislation Review Subcommittee 1 meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th and is talking with Lee Yong-gwan, father of the late PD Lee Han-bit, Kim Mi-sook, mother of the late Kim Yong-gyun and director of the Kim Yong-gyun Foundation, and Kang Eun-mi, floor leader of the Justice Party, urging the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) criticized the government's draft of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for being contrary to its intended purpose.

The PSPD Labor and Social Committee stated in a commentary on the 29th, "The government's draft undermines the original intent of enacting the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, making it impossible to shed the stigma of being a 'Republic of Industrial Accidents' or to prevent recurring citizen disaster tragedies," adding, "We criticize the government for presenting a draft that goes against public demand, and strongly urge the National Assembly to focus on the principles of preventing serious accidents and punishing those responsible when reviewing the bill."

They pointed out elements of the government draft such as the deletion of the presumption of causation clause, which allows for the assumption that a management official violated risk prevention duties leading to a serious accident in certain cases, the expansion of the law’s application deferral, and the removal of provisions related to ordering parties.

The PSPD argued, "If the government draft is reflected in the legislation, it could resemble the Industrial Safety and Health Act, which was revised at the end of 2018 but whose effectiveness is now doubted after two years."

They also emphasized the demands of the 'Serious Accidents Punishment Act Enactment Movement Headquarters,' including punishment of management officials, specification of minimum criminal penalties, punishment of prime contractors and ordering parties who force shortened construction periods, inclusion of both industrial and citizen accidents under the law’s scope, introduction of punitive damages, punishment of public officials responsible for illegal permits and approvals which are major causes of citizen disasters, introduction of presumption of causation for companies with repeated accidents or accident concealment, and application to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

The PSPD stated, "The government draft cannot protect the public from serious accidents nor effectively punish those responsible," and added, "As people continue to die at this very moment, there is no more time to delay. We demand the immediate passage within this year of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act that faithfully reflects the contents of the public consent petition."

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