The Fateful Day for CEO Punishment under the Serious Accident Punishment Act

Last Attempt at Agreement in the Committee on the 5th... Ruling Party Likely to Force Passage in the Plenary Session on the 8th if Agreement Fails

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, attended a meeting with small and medium-sized enterprise organizations regarding the Serious Accidents Punishment Act held at the National Assembly on the 4th, and received the "Position Statement of the Small and Medium Enterprise Sector on the Enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act" from Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Cheol-eung and Sung Ki-ho] The ruling and opposition parties are attempting on the 5th to reach an agreement on the 'Serious Accident Corporate Punishment Act,' which has faced strong opposition from the business community. The key issue is whether to include the CEO as a 'management responsible person' subject to punishment. The ruling party proposes defining the 'CEO and the director in charge of safety' as management responsible persons, while the opposition insists on 'either the CEO or the director in charge of safety.' If no agreement is reached, the ruling party is expected to unilaterally finalize the bill and push for its passage in the plenary session on the 8th.

The Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee resumed deliberations on the Serious Accident Act bill on the morning of the same day. Generally, when the ruling and opposition parties reach an agreement in the subcommittee, the important contents are passed without modification in the full committee meeting and the plenary session.

Song Ki-heon, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee subcommittee from the Democratic Party, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "The goal is to finalize it in the subcommittee on the 5th, but since it cannot be done unilaterally, discussions need to be held. Although the subcommittee has met several times, no key issues have been finalized yet, and they will be discussed and decided in the meeting on the 5th."

The core of the Serious Accident Act is to impose criminal punishment on management to prevent accidents. Park Ju-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker who proposed the bill, argues that management responsible persons should be defined as 'the CEO and the director in charge of safety,' whereas lawmakers from the People Power Party believe that 'either the CEO or the director in charge of safety' is preferable. The disagreement lies in whether the CEO must always be held responsible or if, depending on the case, the director in charge of safety can be held responsible instead.

According to the draft minutes of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee subcommittee meeting on the 30th of last month, obtained through Justice Party lawmaker Kang Eun-mi's office, the two sides engaged in heated debate over this issue. Lawmaker Park said, "The people who ultimately decide the company's management policies are the CEOs, aren't they? The reason industrial accidents have occurred and continue to recur is that management policies prioritize profit over safety."

In response, Kim Do-eup, the opposition party's secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the People Power Party, said, "If companies did not pursue profit in a capitalist society, there would be no companies and no jobs at all." Park countered, "What I mean is that life and safety should not be neglected in the pursuit of profit."

People Power Party lawmakers agree on the necessity of the Serious Accident Act but insist that since it includes criminal punishment provisions, excessive measures should be avoided in principle. Kim questioned, "(The criminal penalty) ranges from more than 2 years to less than 30 years. Unlike in the past, where site managers would just roughly handle things, can a site manager take responsibility knowing they might serve 30 years in prison?"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated at a meeting with representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises the previous day, "(The People Power Party) approaches this from the standpoint that excessive legislation or legislation violating the fundamental principle of responsibility in criminal law should not be enacted."

The business community also began to move urgently. Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation (KEF), met with officials from the Democratic Party and People Power Party's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the morning of the same day and requested, "Please remove the toxic clauses contained in the Serious Accident Act by reflecting the opinions of the business community." KEF emphasized, "The Serious Accident Act significantly violates the principles of responsibility under the Constitution and criminal law, as well as the principle of prohibition of excess, imposing an enormous and unmanageable burden on corporate management and industrial site management," adding, "It should be enacted after careful review with sufficient time."

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