SMEs React to Passage of Serious Accident Punishment Act Subcommittee... "Cannot Contain Our Anger"

On the 6th, Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, is speaking at a press conference held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, regarding the enactment of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Junhyung Lee] On the 7th, as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act) bill passed the review of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee subcommittee in the National Assembly, the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector expressed strong opposition, saying they "cannot contain their anger."

On this day, the SME Council, which includes the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea Specialty Contractors Association, and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise Associations, issued a joint statement strongly criticizing the passage of the Serious Accidents Act bill through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee subcommittee.

The SME sector lamented that "(the Serious Accidents Act) is a law that is too harsh on SMEs with limited human and financial resources," adding, "Industrial accident issues cannot be resolved by punishment alone." They further criticized the Serious Accidents Act as an excessive legislation that stipulates quadruple penalties for a single accident: ▲ imprisonment and fines for the representative, ▲ fines for the corporation, ▲ administrative sanctions on the company, and ▲ punitive damages.

They also pointed out that "although industrial accidents are cases of negligence, setting a minimum imprisonment term equivalent to serious intentional crimes is a legal contradiction," and that "the obligations that business owners must comply with are also broad and ambiguous." Furthermore, the SME sector appealed, "Since 99% of SMEs are owner-led," they "constantly suffer from anxiety that SMEs at the frontline, due to the subcontracting structure, could immediately become lawbreakers."

In consideration of the poor state of industrial safety, they urged for a preparation period of at least two years not only for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees but also for SMEs with 50 or more employees.

Earlier, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to hold a plenary session on the 8th to process the Serious Accidents Act. The National Assembly plans to submit the Serious Accidents Act bill to the plenary session on the 8th after the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

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