Lee Jae-myung: "People Come Before Money... Eradicate Illegal Subcontracting and Risk Outsourcing"

Announcement of 6 Major Industrial Safety Pledges
Including Revision of Industrial Accident Insurance Premium Calculation Method

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced six major industrial safety pledges on the 11th aimed at eradicating illegal subcontracting and the outsourcing of risks.

In a press release on the same day, Lee stated, "I will change a society where money is valued more than human lives, a society where lives are sacrificed instead of money. The profits gained by neglecting dangerous working environments must never outweigh the value of precious lives."

He emphasized strengthening both preemptive management and post-incident supervision to prevent the outsourcing of risks. In particular, he plans to prevent ordering parties or contracting employers from shifting risk burdens onto small and medium-sized enterprises that lack the capacity to manage industrial accidents, and to ensure proper execution of industrial safety and health management costs.

He also proposed strengthening punishments for serious accidents caused by illegal subcontracting and clearly notifying and supervising employers on key safety and health matters.

Lee explained, "52% of industrial accident fatalities are construction workers, and most accidents occur at subcontracted construction sites. Even faithful implementation of the Construction Industry Basic Act, which prohibits illegal subcontracting, would significantly alleviate unsafe conditions on site."

Other pledges include ▲ strengthening financial sanctions on corporations with actual responsibility and authority ▲ improving the method of calculating industrial accident insurance premiums ▲ enhancing safety and health for special employment workers and platform workers.

Lee pledged, "I myself was a powerless young laborer injured while working in a factory, resulting in a disability in my arm and becoming a victim of industrial accidents," and vowed to create a fair society that prioritizes people over money and to eradicate illegal subcontracting and the outsourcing of risks.

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