KCCI "Passage of Serious Accident Punishment Act, Simply Devastating"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) expressed its position regarding the passage of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (Serious Accidents Act) at the National Assembly plenary session, stating, "While we must make every effort to prevent serious accidents from occurring, the enactment of an unconstitutional law that imposes the world's harshest penalties, such as imprisonment for more than one year, even when management officials and prime contractors have fulfilled their duties as good managers according to their roles and management scope, is simply devastating for the business community."

In a statement released that day, KEF said, "The Serious Accidents Punishment Act passed the National Assembly plenary session without reflecting the core demands of the business community."

KEF pointed out, "Following excessive minimum wage increases and reductions in working hours, amendments to the Commercial Act, Fair Trade Act, Labor Union Act, and Special Employment Insurance Act for Special Types of Workers were made at the end of last year, and now the Serious Accidents Punishment Act has passed the National Assembly, resulting in a series of laws and policies that place enormous burdens on corporate management," adding, "This is making the business environment in Korea even more difficult."

It continued, "If world-class labor, safety, and environmental regulations that our country's industrial level and industrial structure cannot handle are imposed, the competitiveness of our industries and companies will inevitably be pushed out of the global market," emphasizing, "Ultimately, this will lead to a weakening of the real economy foundation, including employment and investment."

KEF urged, "We hope that the government and the National Assembly will, under the principle of 'strengthening accident prevention policies first, then strengthening punishment,' conduct in-depth discussions once again before the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, based on cases from advanced competitive countries, and work toward revising the law to make it constitutional and reasonable."

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