Most Provisions of the Serious Accident Punishment Act Agreed Upon, but Why Is It Criticized as the 'Murder Aiding Law'?

'CEO or Safety Director' "No Escape"
Excluding workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, grace periods vary by size of 50 or 100 employees
Imprisonment for executives confirmed if obligations violated

Kang Eun-mi, the floor leader of the Justice Party, and lawmakers are shouting slogans urging the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act at the hunger strike site in front of the National Assembly main building on the 6th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have largely agreed on the contents of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. The Justice Party criticizes the draft harshly, saying that key elements included in the original draft have been omitted or weakened, calling it "close to a corporate homicide facilitation law."

Baek Hye-ryun, chairperson of the subcommittee of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a Democratic Party lawmaker, stated after the meeting on the 6th, "We only failed to reach a final agreement regarding the grace period, and everything else has been settled," adding, "Tomorrow, we plan to finalize the articles and pass the resolution." The subcommittee will meet on the morning of the 7th, followed by the full committee meeting in the afternoon, and the bill is expected to pass at the plenary session on the 8th.

◆ Responsible person is 'CEO or Safety Director'... A loophole to escape?

Criminal punishment will be imposed on management officials who fail to properly fulfill safety obligations, and the management official is defined as the 'CEO or Safety Management Director.' The proposal by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min, which suggested 'CEO and Safety Management Director' to prevent CEOs from escaping responsibility, was not accepted.

In response, Kim Jong-chul, leader of the Justice Party, confronted Baek outside the meeting room, saying, "Only the Safety Director is punished while the CEO escapes, which is why industrial accidents have not decreased so far." Baek replied, "That is not how it should be interpreted. The wording includes 'equivalent to this,' and we clearly started discussions with the understanding that the person who oversees and effectively represents the business can also be held responsible."

It was argued that assuming both the CEO and the Safety Management Director would be punished could be problematic. Baek explained, "For example, if a minister delegates authority to a vice minister who handles the work, but the minister is also held responsible, that could be an issue. If there is a person responsible for safety, it is appropriate to end responsibility at that level."

◆ Death penalty: imprisonment of 1 year or more; injury: up to 7 years

The punishment levels had been agreed upon earlier. For 'punishment of business owners and management officials,' in cases of death caused by failure to fulfill safety obligations, management will face 'imprisonment of 1 year or more or a fine of up to 1 billion KRW.' This is a relaxation compared to the government's proposal (imprisonment of 2 years or more or a fine between 50 million and 1 billion KRW), lowering the minimum imprisonment term and removing the minimum fine. However, the provision for discretionary combined sentencing of imprisonment and fines by the court was included.

For injuries or occupational diseases, the government’s proposal of 'imprisonment up to 7 years or a fine up to 100 million KRW' was accepted. Park Ju-min’s proposal was 'imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine up to 100 million KRW' for serious accidents other than death, but the government suggested the higher penalty considering the criminal law’s provisions on occupational negligence and injury, which was accepted as is.

The clause presuming causality, which defines those who caused serious accidents if safety violations are confirmed three or more times within five years, is set to be deleted. Instead, if a person commits the same crime again within five years after a serious accident sentence is confirmed, the punishment will be increased by up to half.

Fines for corporations are set at up to 5 billion KRW for fatal accidents and up to 1 billion KRW for injuries. The same level of punishment applies to serious civic disasters such as the Sewol ferry disaster, as well as industrial accidents, targeting both management and corporations. Responsibility in subcontracting relationships applies to services, contracts, and consignment, but excludes ordering and leasing.

◆ Exclusion of workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, no punishment for public officials

Small-scale workplaces and small business owners are excluded from the law’s application. Workplaces with fewer than 5 employees are excluded from serious industrial accident punishment, and small business owners with fewer than 10 regular employees are excluded from serious civic disaster punishment. Multi-use facilities such as restaurants, karaoke rooms, PC rooms, and bathhouses are exempt if their floor area is less than 1000㎡ (approximately 302 pyeong). Schools are also excluded considering potential conflicts with the School Safety Management Act.

The punishment clause for public officials will also be removed. Baek explained, "There was discussion that it is difficult, almost impossible, to prove the causal relationship between public officials’ licensing and supervision actions and serious accidents," adding, "Even if the clause is included legally, it was agreed that it would be practically impossible to punish, so it was removed."

The grace period based on workplace size will be decided at the subcommittee meeting on the 7th. Baek said, "Everyone agrees that some grace period is necessary," adding, "The opposition party largely favors the government’s proposal (4 years for fewer than 50 employees, 2 years for 50 to 100 employees). The size criteria will be decided and approved tomorrow." The Justice Party strongly opposes the grace period conditions, stating that 85% of all serious accidents occur in workplaces with fewer than 50 employees.

Justice Party lawmaker Shim Sang-jung said, "They want to exclude workplaces with fewer than 5 employees, exclude ordering parties, and apply grace periods by size categories of 50 and 100 employees. Then I want to ask what is left. The responsibility of management and public officials is the core of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, but management is given loopholes and public officials are completely removed. What will protect lives after removing the car and the cannon?"

She continued, "The Justice Party deeply regrets that complaints from the business community are reflected by each government ministry, and that ministries come here to handle business grievances during the bill review process," adding, "This bill must not be adopted as is. We will discuss measures through a countermeasure meeting."

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