Revisions to the Serious Accidents Punishment Act... Construction Industry's Expectations

"Revise Ambiguous Enforcement Decrees Before Legal Amendments"
'Necessary Budget and Personnel' and 'Substantial Workplaces' Criticized as Vague Terms
Confusion Arises from Divergent Interpretations Between Ministry of Employment and Labor and Ministry of Justice Regarding Overseas Local Corporations

On the first day of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act enforcement, which allows for the punishment of management officials when serious accidents such as worker fatalities occur, managers are conducting a safety inspection at an apartment construction site in Gyeonggi-do on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] There is growing interest in whether the Yoon Seok-yeol administration will undertake a major overhaul of the “Serious Accidents Punishment Act” (hereinafter referred to as the Serious Accidents Act), which the construction industry wants revised due to many ambiguous or unrealistic regulations. President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol expressed during his candidacy that he supports a “rational application” through amendments and supplements to the Serious Accidents Act.

For now, the construction industry hopes that even before the new government proceeds with legislative amendments, the enforcement decree, which can be handled at the Cabinet meeting level, will be revised first. A representative clause is Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the enforcement decree concerning the “subjects obligated to ensure safety and health.” The phrase “business or workplace substantially controlled, operated, or managed by the employer, corporation, or institution” contains the word “substantially,” which is considered ambiguous. Additionally, expressions such as “equipped with necessary personnel” and “formulate and execute necessary budgets” in Article 8 of the enforcement decree use the broad and abstract term “necessary,” prompting demands for clearer definitions. This clarity is needed to specify how much personnel and budget must be secured.

Furthermore, current laws define management officials as “persons who represent the business and have authority and responsibility for overall business management or persons responsible for safety and health tasks equivalent to them.” However, since the phrase “equivalent to them” is ambiguous, there are calls to clarify it as “safety and health management officials who have authority and responsibility for overall management of the relevant tasks.”

Meanwhile, there is a need to resolve conflicting interpretations between the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Ministry of Justice regarding the application of the law to overseas local subsidiaries of domestic companies. The Ministry of Employment and Labor stated in response to companies’ requests for authoritative interpretation that “accidents occurring at overseas workplaces are not managed,” whereas the Ministry of Justice said, “According to criminal law, the Serious Accidents Punishment Act applies to crimes committed abroad by Koreans,” which has caused confusion.

On the other hand, President-elect Yoon has not made any official pledges regarding the Serious Accidents Act. However, during his campaign and debates, he expressed a general intention for rational supplementation and application. At a debate on the 2nd, Yoon stated, “The current detention requirements are somewhat ambiguous. When criminal prosecution occurs, various legal issues may arise.” Last month, he also said, “Related enforcement decrees should be refined and executed rationally so that businesspeople do not lose motivation, and rational consideration should be given to practical application.” He added, “The law should not be abolished but maintained, and its application should be carried out rationally.”

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