Park Beom-gye "Appropriate Punishment for Those Responsible for Serious Accidents Reduces Incidents... Cooperation with Related Agencies is Important"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Park Beom-gye, Minister of Justice, emphasized that related agencies such as the prosecution, police, and labor office must cooperate organically from investigation to trial to punish those responsible for major disaster accidents and reduce accidents.

According to the Ministry of Justice on the 20th, Minister Park said at the 'Major Disaster Incident Practitioners Meeting' held at the Pyeongtaek Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on the 18th, "Ensuring that those responsible for safety accidents receive appropriate punishment and sentencing is the way to reduce accidents."

For example, he stressed the importance of joint responses by investigative agencies, such as prosecutors participating in on-site inspections early on to collect evidence.

At the meeting, Ministry of Justice officials including Minister Park, major disaster dedicated prosecutors from the Pyeongtaek Branch and Daegu District Prosecutors' Office, as well as representatives from Pyeongtaek Police Station, Central Regional Employment and Labor Office Gyeonggi Branch, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters, Pyeongtaek Fire Station, and Pyeongtaek City Hall attended.

Minister Park stated, "Ultimately, it is necessary to obtain guilty verdicts against those responsible to raise awareness and ensure thorough preventive activities," adding, "Not only organic cooperation in initial investigations but also monitoring and feedback on results from referral, prosecution, to trial are needed to establish a post-response system capable of dealing with repeated similar accidents."

He also mentioned necessary measures such as prior research related to major civic disasters, establishing regional governance for cooperation among related agencies, and providing and guiding the use of safety lifelines at work sites.

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