Prospect of Legislating ‘National Honor’ for Coal Mine Fatalities

‘Special Act on Abandoned Mining Areas’ Approved by Industry Committee
Lee Cheol-gyu: “Honoring Workers Who Contributed to Industrialization”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] Government budget support is expected to become possible for projects commemorating workers who died during coal mine operations.

Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee (SanJaWi) from the People Power Party representing Gangwon Donghae, Taebaek, Samcheok, and Jeongseon, announced on the 22nd that the amendment to the "Special Act on Support for Development of Closed Mine Areas" (폐특법) containing this content was approved at the committee's plenary meeting.

The core of the amendment allows the state and local governments to carry out commemorative projects such as holding memorial ceremonies, constructing memorial towers, and creating memorial spaces to honor coal mine workers who died in the line of duty. It also includes provisions enabling the state and local governments to support all or part of the budget when corporations or organizations carry out commemorative projects. The purpose is to honor coal mine workers who worked under harsh conditions during the industrialization period for economic development.

Rep. Lee stated, "Honoring and respecting the sacrifices of coal mine workers who contributed to Korea's industrialization has been a long-standing wish of residents in closed mine areas," and added, "We will make every effort to ensure that the amendment to the 폐특법 passes the plenary session."

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