Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and National Police Agency Hold Council on Serious Accident Investigation Agencies... Establish Regional Investigation Task Force 'Hotline'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] On the 21st, related agencies held an investigative agency countermeasure council to strengthen mutual cooperation in investigating major disaster incidents ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act on the 27th.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and National Police Agency held the investigative agency countermeasure council from 2:30 p.m. at the 15th-floor conference room of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-dong, Seoul, to discuss response measures.

The meeting was organized to align with the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, which is just a week away, aiming to achieve the legislative purpose of "preventing serious accidents" by reviewing cooperation methods among related investigative agencies centered on public safety and establishing a rational investigative system for serious accident cases.

Attendees included the head of the Public Investigation Department, head of the Criminal Division 3, head of the Labor Investigation Support Division, and a research officer from the Supreme Prosecutors' Office; the director of the Occupational Safety and Health Headquarters, head of the Serious Industrial Accident Supervision Division, and a staff member from the Ministry of Employment and Labor; and the director of the Criminal Bureau, head of the Violent Crime Investigation Division of the Violent Crime Investigation Department, and an investigative researcher from the National Police Agency, totaling 10 participants.

These investigative agencies set key goals focusing on "preventing serious accidents" through compliance with basic safety measures such as providing LIFE-LINE safety equipment and "strict response to management responsible for causing serious accidents by neglecting or tolerating hazardous and dangerous factors."

To this end, they discussed specific response measures including ▲ operation of a practical consultation council for serious accident investigations ▲ establishment of a cooperative system for serious accident investigations ▲ establishment of a Safety Accident Expert Committee ▲ and building a nationwide cooperative system for dedicated serious accident investigation teams.

First, to achieve the goal of "preventing serious accidents" through the establishment of a safety and health management system, these agencies agreed to strengthen enforcement and investigative activities under safety and health-related laws to build a safety system across society, such as "safe working environments," and to lay the foundation for establishing and implementing safety and health management systems under the Serious Accident Punishment Act.

They also agreed on the necessity of drastically reducing serious accidents by practicing basic safety measures such as providing and mandating the wearing of safety equipment like LIFE-LINE (life belt).

The Ministry of Justice announced that Minister Park Beom-gye withdrew the plan to appoint an external serious accident expert, rather than a prosecutor, as the chief prosecutor through public recruitment earlier that morning, and that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will establish an advisory body related to serious accidents chaired by an external member.

Additionally, as a top priority measure, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will conduct a special guidance period for wearing LIFE-LINE at construction sites and will strictly respond to safety accidents occurring due to violations after the guidance period, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Regarding "strict response to management responsible for neglecting or tolerating hazardous and dangerous factors," related investigative agencies will thoroughly investigate management responsible for neglecting or tolerating hazardous and dangerous factors and strictly hold accountable those who violate safety and health obligations causing serious accidents, ensuring that "criminal responsibility commensurate with the crime" can be imposed.

As a specific response measure, since evidence clarifying the cause of accidents such as collapses and fires is often destroyed in serious accident cases, and due to the complexity of related laws and industrial technology, communication and cooperation among multiple related agencies are deemed essential to identify accident causes and responsibility. Therefore, a "practical consultation council for serious accident investigations" composed of the prosecution, Ministry of Employment and Labor, police, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, and other related agencies will be formed.

Through this, they plan to discuss countermeasures for issues raised at the frontline, enhance the speed and efficiency of investigations, and discuss concrete measures for preventing serious accidents.

Also, to prevent duplicate investigations when basic facts are the same, these agencies plan to hold stepwise practical consultation meetings to discuss initial investigations at accident sites and specific cooperation measures related to overlapping investigations.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has established a "Safety Accident Expert Committee" that operates permanently. The committee will receive recommendations of field safety accident experts from the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the National Police Agency to assist in strengthening expertise in investigation and prosecution, from analyzing causes of serious accidents to confirming sentencing factors.

Finally, each investigative agency will designate a "dedicated person in charge of serious accidents" and establish a hotline for dedicated investigation teams by region nationwide, creating a system capable of responding swiftly to serious accident occurrences.

Through this, serious industrial accident cases will be exclusively investigated by nine regional labor offices, and serious civic accident cases will be investigated by city and provincial police agencies before being transferred to the prosecution office (district or branch) with jurisdiction over the accident location.

Article 2 (Definitions) Clause 1 of the Serious Accident Punishment Act defines serious accidents as serious industrial accidents and serious civic accidents. Clause 2 defines serious industrial accidents under the Industrial Safety and Health Act as accidents where ▲ one or more deaths occur ▲ two or more injuries requiring treatment for six months or longer occur from the same accident ▲ three or more occupational diseases such as acute poisoning caused by the same harmful factor occur within one year.

Clause 3 defines serious civic accidents as accidents caused by defects in the design, manufacture, installation, or management of specific raw materials or products, public facilities, or public transportation, resulting in ▲ one or more deaths ▲ ten or more injuries requiring treatment for two months or longer from the same accident ▲ ten or more illnesses requiring treatment for three months or longer caused by the same factor.

Before the meeting, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Ministry of Employment and Labor discussed through a "practical-level consultation council" ▲ jurisdiction over serious industrial accident investigations ▲ sharing of legal interpretation materials ▲ establishment of a contact system for dedicated industrial accident investigation teams ▲ and measures to enhance the expertise of prosecution investigators and labor inspectors.

Also, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and National Police Agency discussed cooperation measures including sharing legal review materials related to serious civic accidents.

The related investigative agencies stated, "Taking the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act as an opportunity, we will solidify awareness of building safety systems across society and preventing serious accidents, and through establishing an investigative cooperation system, we will respond strictly and swiftly to serious accident cases that threaten the lives and safety of the public."

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