Fetal Disabilities Also Recognized as 'Industrial Accidents'... Passed by the Environment and Labor Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] The National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee held a plenary session on the 2nd and passed a bill to amend the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act (Fetal Industrial Accident Compensation Act) recognizing fetal disabilities caused by maternal exposure to harmful environments as "work-related injuries."

The amendment includes provisions recognizing the insurance benefit entitlement of children born with health impairments due to work-related accidents affecting pregnant workers.

Additionally, the amendment contains a "retroactive application clause." Even children born before the law's enforcement can be granted industrial accident insurance benefit eligibility if they meet certain conditions, such as winning lawsuits related to insurance benefit payments.

The amendment will take effect one year after the law is promulgated.

The current Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act does not recognize disabilities or diseases in children caused by maternal work-related factors as industrial accidents, citing that fetuses do not have labor capacity or the right to claim industrial accident benefits.

However, following the Supreme Court's recognition in April last year of congenital heart disease in children of nurses at Jeju Medical Center exposed to hazardous substances as "work-related injuries," calls have grown to recognize fetuses as subjects of industrial accident compensation.

This ruling was also the Supreme Court's first judgment that congenital diseases in children related to the mother's working environment should be considered work-related injuries.

Accordingly, former Environment and Labor Committee Chairperson Song Ok-ju of the Democratic Party and fellow party member Jang Cheol-min proposed amendments recognizing fetal disabilities as industrial accidents. After the legislative process, the related committee plenary session passed the bill on this day.

The bills are expected to undergo systematic and legal review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and be finally approved at the plenary session later this month.

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