Business Community: "Enforcement Decree of Serious Accidents Punishment Act Lacks Clear Standards... Concerns Over Excessive Punishment of Entrepreneurs"

[Asia Economy Reporter Su-yeon Woo] The business community expressed concerns that the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, announced by the government on the 9th, contains unclear standards in its content and could lead to excessive punishment of business executives.

On the same day, the government announced its intention to publicly notify the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act for 40 days starting from the 12th of this month and then finalize the decree. The bill focuses on strengthening penalties against companies and management officials when industrial accidents such as fatal accidents occur.

Jang Sang-yoon, Director of the Social Coordination Office at the Office for Government Policy Coordination, is giving a preliminary briefing on the legislative notice of the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The business community emphasized that specific standards regarding the scope of punishment, severity, and the definition and range of management obligations have not been clearly established, and that the content of the bill should be concretized through sufficient discussion during the public notification period.

The Korea Employers Federation, which mainly handles labor issues in the industrial sector, stated, "Many parts of the proposed Enforcement Decree, including the obligations of management officials, remain vague and ambiguous, making it impossible to know to what extent obligations must be fulfilled to avoid punishment," adding, "Opinions from the industrial field should be thoroughly reviewed and reflected during the public notification period to minimize confusion and side effects at the workplace."

Furthermore, the Federation pointed out several shortcomings in the proposed decree. First, it noted that only a list of 'occupational diseases' is stipulated, and no severity criteria (such as treatment exceeding six months for injured persons) have been established, which raises the possibility that minor illnesses not qualifying as serious accidents could be considered major industrial accidents. It also criticized the lack of definition for the concept and scope of management officials, making the obligated parties unclear.

Additionally, the content of the safety and health management system obligations for management officials (such as appropriate budgets and diligent work) is ambiguous, and since related safety and health laws are not specified, it is impossible to predict the obligations management officials must comply with. The decree also lacks exemption provisions for management officials if a serious accident occurs due to other causes such as individual negligence despite their diligent fulfillment of duties. Lastly, considering the public notification period, it expressed the practical difficulty that there is insufficient preparation time to fully implement the obligations of management officials as stipulated by the law by the end of January next year when the law takes effect.

The Federation of Korean Industries also expressed concerns, stating, "The scope of obligations that management officials must fulfill is ambiguous, and related safety and health laws delegated by the law are not specifically specified, causing unclear points," adding, "This could cause significant confusion and side effects in the industrial field." The Federation also pointed out that the proposed decree does not limit severity or treatment periods related to 'occupational diseases,' meaning minor injuries could be included as serious accidents. They argued that the excessively broad scope could lead to excessive punishment of business executives. Furthermore, they noted that industrial safety is not only about management officials but also about compliance with safety obligations by field workers, and the lack of regulations on this point is regrettable.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry criticized the fundamental limitation of the Enforcement Decree, stating that the Serious Accidents Punishment Act focuses more on post-accident punishment than on the prevention of industrial accidents. The Chamber said, "The Enforcement Decree, which should clearly define corporate responsibilities and obligations, contains vague standards such as appropriate personnel and budgets, undermining corporate predictability and causing confusion." It added, "Since everyone agrees on the need to drastically reduce serious accidents, we urge labor, management, and government to jointly come up with effective measures without delay."

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