Comprehensive Revision of the 'Serious Accident Punishment Act and Three Fair Economy Laws'... Launch of the Pan-Government Task Force (TF)

Bang Gi-seon, First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance (center), is presiding over the 'Economic Penal Provisions Improvement Task Force' and delivering opening remarks at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 13th. (Photo by Ministry of Economy and Finance)

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Son Seon-hee] The government is undertaking a major overhaul of penal provisions that excessively restrict corporate activities. In particular, it has identified the "Fair Economy 3 Acts (Commercial Act, Fair Trade Act, Financial Group Supervision Act)"?which were key legislative priorities during the Moon Jae-in administration?as well as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and International Labour Organization (ILO)-related laws as requiring revision, signaling an intention to reconsider them from the ground up.

On the 13th, the government held a launch meeting for the "Economic Penal Provisions Improvement Task Force (TF)" at the Government Seoul Office, co-chaired by Bang Gi-seon, First Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Lee No-gong, Vice Minister of Justice, to discuss these matters. Given concerns that custodial punishments such as imprisonment among penal types have been stifling corporate management activities, the government plans to broadly convert excessive penal provisions into administrative sanctions such as fines.

To this end, a comprehensive survey of legal provisions under the jurisdiction of each ministry will be conducted. Additionally, penal provisions gathered from private opinions collected through six economic organizations and experts have been collectively placed under review.

The government will reexamine the necessity and rationality of the relevant penal provisions from a "zero base" using five criteria: whether the penalties are necessary and minimal in the realm of private autonomy; whether legislative objectives cannot be achieved by other means such as administrative sanctions; whether there is consistency with similar legal provisions serving the same legislative purpose; whether the penal provisions are excessive compared to overseas cases; and whether criminal penalties are no longer necessary due to changes over time.

Through this process, existing penalties will be deleted or converted into administrative sanctions (decriminalized) for simple administrative obligations or order violations unrelated to public safety or crime. Even if the necessity of penalties is recognized, sentences will be mitigated or differentiated (rationalized) according to the degree of responsibility.

The TF is jointly led by the Vice Ministers of Strategy and Finance and Justice, and is composed of related ministries including the Korea Fair Trade Commission and private experts. Following initial reviews by each ministry, improvement plans will be prepared, and after a second round of working-level meetings, improvement proposals will be sequentially submitted and finalized throughout the year. Penal provisions for which improvement plans are prepared will undergo related legislative amendment processes.

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