Ryu Ho-jeong: "We Absolutely Cannot Accept the Government's Serious Accident Punishment Act Proposal"

Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong is speaking at a press conference urging the formation of an investigative committee on the public discussion of spent nuclear fuel in the Gyeongju area, held at the National Assembly Communication Office on August 25. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] On the 29th, Ryu Ho-jeong, a Justice Party lawmaker, expressed a firm stance of "absolutely unacceptable" regarding the compromise proposal related to the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act).

On the same day, Ryu stated on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs,' "It is called the Serious Accidents Act, but it could become a law that does not punish companies."

Ryu criticized, "The Serious Accidents Punishment Act has retreated once as it moved from the Justice Party's proposal to the Democratic Party's, and retreated once more due to the government's proposal," adding, "Its original purpose has been greatly diminished."

She continued, "This bill is intended to hold the primary contractor company responsible, recognizing that serious accidents occurring at workplaces are not due to individual negligence but are corporate crimes caused by inadequate safety systems within the company. However, the main contents have all been removed," and said, "If the enforcement for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees is postponed, the primary contractor will be exempt from joint responsibility. This law would allow the top 1% to escape responsibility again."

She also pointed out, "If responsibility for the primary contractor continues to be reduced piece by piece like this, the law will become no different from the current Industrial Safety and Health Act," adding, "Although the Industrial Safety and Health Act allows for up to 7 years imprisonment and various penalties, in the end, due to various reasons, only the workers on the ground are punished, and industrial accidents are not decreasing."

Earlier, on the 28th, the government submitted a Serious Accidents Act bill to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee that excludes the responsibility of government officials such as central government ministers and local government heads when accidents occur at industrial sites.

According to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Democratic Party of Korea prepared a plan to divide the application timing of the Serious Accidents Act into three stages based on workplace size after collecting opinions from each ministry. The amount of punitive damages and the levels of punishment and fines were eased compared to the original proposal. Additionally, while the draft initially postponed enforcement for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees by 4 years, a plan was added to defer application for workplaces with 50 to fewer than 100 employees by 2 years.

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