Top Domestic Safety Expert Jo Seong-il, Former Seoul Facilities Corporation President, Publishes Book on Serious Accident Punishment Act

"Overcoming Pain Towards a Safe Society" (Suggestions for Improving the Serious Accident Punishment Act) Book Published: Proposing Directions for Improvement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act ▲ Analysis of Current Law Issues Where Safety Is Neglected and Only Large Law Firms Profit ▲ Presenting Policy Breakthroughs and Solutions to Resolve Sharp Conflicts Between Management and Labor... Dedicated to Writing Since Retirement in February This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Jo Seong-il, former director of the Seoul Facilities Corporation, recently published a book proposing improvements to the "Serious Accidents Punishment Act," a social issue gaining attention.

After graduating from Hanyang University with a degree in Civil Engineering, Jo passed the Technical High Examination in 1985 and began working for the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 1986. He served as the head of the Urban Infrastructure Headquarters and the Urban Safety Headquarters (Grade 1) before serving as the director of the Seoul Facilities Corporation from July 2019 to February 2022.

Notably, he is one of Korea’s top safety experts, having earned a Ph.D. in bridge maintenance from the University of Surrey in the UK in 2005. Since retiring in 2015, he has been lecturing on urban aging and disaster-related topics at the Graduate School of Urban Studies at the University of Seoul.

After retiring as director of the Seoul Facilities Corporation, Jo established the Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Research Institute (Director Jo Seong-il) and has been delivering lectures and writing on safety topics. He recently released a book titled "Overcoming Pain Towards a Safe Society," with the subtitle "Suggestions for Improving the Serious Accidents Punishment Act."

The book introduces the background, legislative process, and contents of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and analyzes its shortcomings.

The Korean Serious Accidents Punishment Act was legislated with the core principle of deterrence through harsh punishment to prevent crimes by "making an example of one to warn a hundred." However, this book also addresses the evidence that punishment alone cannot reduce accidents.

It explores why management officials tend to line up at large law firms to avoid punishment rather than reducing risk factors or enhancing safety capabilities. Based on the author’s extensive experience handling safety policies in public offices such as the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Facilities Corporation, the book offers various practical case-based solutions to reduce societal risks and improve safety capabilities.

In the book, Director Jo points out that the obligations imposed on management officials by the Serious Accidents Punishment Act mainly pertain to management policies or administrative actions. These are disconnected from reducing risks present on-site or enhancing on-site safety capabilities. Although punishments are severe, the standards for compliance are unclear, forcing management officials to focus on superficial tasks to avoid penalties. Instead of reducing risks or improving safety capabilities, they seek legal counsel from large law firms on how to evade punishment. Because these standards are detached from the actual work sites, accidents continue to recur even after the law’s enforcement.

Finally, the book proposes policy directions for the Serious Accidents Punishment Act that reflect both management and labor perspectives.

Having experience as a management official and having witnessed the pain of those affected by disasters and accidents, the author considers both sides and suggests a path toward a truly safe society. This is expected to serve as a policy breakthrough to resolve the current sharp conflicts between management and labor.

The author also shares special lecture materials related to the book’s content on YouTube.

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