Minister of Employment at Major Accident Act Academic Conference: "Lack of Management Responsibility Interest is the Root Cause of Industrial Accidents"

Ministry of Employment and Ministry of Justice Hold Joint Academic Conference to Prepare for Enforcement of Serious Accidents Punishment Act

Minister of Justice: "Firm Response to Serious Accidents Caused by Repeated Gross Negligence"

Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk visited a manufacturing company in Seoul on July 28 to complete an inspection for preventing entrapment industrial accidents and is seen answering questions from the press. (Photo by Ministry of Employment and Labor) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] An Kyung-duk, Minister of Employment and Labor, attended the joint academic conference hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Justice on June 1 to prepare for the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, stating, "The fundamental cause of industrial accidents is the low interest of management officials in industrial safety and health."

On the afternoon of the same day, the two ministries held an academic conference focused on legal issues and case studies for the prevention of serious accidents at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. Attendees included Minister An, Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, Kang Eun-mi, member of the National Assembly from the Justice Party, Park Byeong-seok, Chairman of the Ulsan City Council, and Kwon Hyuk, professor at the Law School of Pusan National University.

In his opening remarks, Minister An said, "The fundamental cause of industrial accidents lies in the social atmosphere and organizational culture where both labor and management neglect safety and health, prioritizing speed and cost reduction. In particular, the low interest of management officials in industrial safety and health plays an important role as a cause. I hope that the enforcement of the law will serve as an opportunity for companies to establish safety and health management systems and for workplaces to become environments where everyone complies with safety rules while working," he emphasized.

Minister Park stated, "We will reestablish sentencing guidelines to ensure punishments correspond to responsibilities and align with the public's sense of justice. Especially, serious accidents caused by habitual gross negligence and malicious negligence must be dealt with firmly and strictly. Through today's discussions, I hope we can find ways to realize the legislative intent of accident prevention and securing public safety, and that this will serve as an opportunity to bring about a fundamental change in awareness regarding safety," he mentioned.

Assemblywoman Kang said, "After the enactment of the law, companies are making efforts to build safety management systems, and workers hold hope to work and return home safely without dying. However, there are concerns that some companies are focusing on 'evading the law' rather than strengthening safety. I will do my best to carry out life-respecting politics that fully take responsibility for the safety of workers and citizens in the National Assembly," she said.

Kwon Gi-seop, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, delivered a keynote speech titled "The Serious Accidents Punishment Act and Serious Accident Prevention Policies," stating, "To prevent serious accidents, it is important to establish a safety and health management system that prevents tolerance of non-compliance with regulations and neglect of risks. The core of this is communication and empathy between management officials and field workers."

The academic conference was divided into three sessions: "Review of Criminal Law Issues Surrounding the Application of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act," "Serious Citizen Accidents under the Serious Accidents Punishment Act Based on Existing Cases such as Humidifier Disinfectant Damage Cases," and "Institutional Improvement Measures Based on the Gwangju Demolition Building Collapse Case." A government official said, "Based on the discussions held today, we will do our best to ensure the law is firmly established in the field and that the safety of the public's life and body is strongly protected."

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