"Gwangju Chamber of Commerce Submits Opinion on Serious Accident Punishment Act Citing Concerns Over Excessive Penalties for Business Owners"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] The business community in the Gwangju region expressed concerns that the Serious Accidents Punishment Act could lead to "excessive punishment of managers."

The Gwangju Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Chairman Jeong Chang-seon) announced on the 23rd that it submitted the opinions of the local business community to the Ministry of Justice regarding the draft enforcement decree of the "Serious Accidents Punishment Act."

The Gwangju Chamber warned that this law focuses on punishing business owners and management officials, broadly defines occupational disease patients, and vaguely specifies measures related to the establishment and implementation of safety and health management systems, which could lead to excessive punishment of managers.

Specifically, among the 24 types of "occupational disease patients" defined in the enforcement decree of the law, it includes diseases such as heatstroke that can occur even during daily life.

Without specifying the severity of various occupational diseases, even if the patients are in mild stages and can be treated and recovered, if three cases occur within one year, the business owner may be punished for a serious industrial accident.

Every year, an appropriate budget must be allocated to secure safety and health-related personnel, facilities, and equipment, but the scope of 'appropriate budget' is unclear, leaving room for subjective judgment.

It is also anticipated that unnecessary administrative burdens will increase due to disputes among stakeholders such as business owners, management officials, workers, and related authorities.

A representative of the Gwangju Chamber said, "The draft enforcement decree containing unclear and comprehensive expressions is increasing confusion in industrial sites," and added, "It is urgent to revise the enforcement decree to reflect the opinions of the field in detail."

The Serious Accidents Punishment Act will be enforced from January 27 next year, and businesses with fewer than 50 regular workers will have a two-year grace period before the law applies.

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