Presidential Office Strengthens Support for SMEs Vulnerable to Industrial Accidents... "Increases Loan Budget for Preventive Facilities by 100 Billion Won"

Jang Sang-yoon's First Public Welfare Visit After Appointment as Senior Secretary for Social Affairs
Meeting with SME Representatives from Ansan and Banwol Industrial Complex
Business Leaders Say "Preparations for the Serious Accident Punishment Act Are Overwhelming"

Jang Sang-yoon, the newly appointed Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Presidential Office, announced that he will directly meet with representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) vulnerable to industrial accidents to strengthen related support.

According to the Presidential Office on the 13th, Jang held a meeting with seven representatives of SMEs from the Ansan and Banwol Industrial Complex areas in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, the previous day and made this announcement. This is the first time Jang has visited a livelihood site since his appointment on the 30th of last month.

Jang stated that the government has increased the budget for the loan project for the installation and improvement of safety facility equipment for SMEs (annual interest rate 1.5%, 3-year grace period, 7-year installment repayment) from 355.3 billion KRW this year to 458.6 billion KRW, an increase of more than 100 billion KRW, and said, "We will soon finalize the 'Support Measures for Companies Vulnerable to Serious Accidents,' including the loan project for industrial accident prevention facilities, and significantly strengthen government support for SMEs vulnerable to industrial accidents."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Presidential Office, the businesspeople attending the meeting said, "The burden of preparing in advance for the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the possibility of criminal punishment are heavy," and "At the very least, the legislative delay for application being promoted by the government and the ruling party must be realized."

They also expressed concerns about the difficulty of securing professional personnel for industrial accident prevention activities, saying, "Even if personnel are barely hired, there is a tendency to avoid safety manager duties due to job transfers to large companies or responsibility issues under the Serious Accident Punishment Act and the Industrial Safety and Health Act," and appealed for government support.

The Serious Accident Punishment Act stipulates that if a serious accident such as a worker's death occurs at workplaces with 50 or more employees (or construction projects worth 5 billion KRW or more), employers who fail to fulfill accident prevention obligations shall be punished with imprisonment for one year or more or a fine of up to 1 billion KRW.

The law is scheduled to be applied from January 27 next year after a grace period for workplaces with fewer than 50 regular employees and construction sites with projects worth less than 5 billion KRW. However, the government, the Presidential Office, and the People Power Party are currently pushing for a legislative amendment to extend the grace period by two years only for these companies.

They particularly insisted on the enactment of the legislative delay for application promoted by the government and the ruling party, and stated that if the law enforcement is postponed by two years, SMEs will actively participate with the government in establishing safety and health management systems during that period, according to the Presidential Office.

Jang also introduced that the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency plans to conduct professional training for more than 20,000 people from 2024 to 2026 to cultivate safety and health professionals. In addition, consulting support for companies with fewer than 50 employees will be provided to 27,000 sites in 2024, an increase of 12,000 sites compared to 15,000 sites this year, and various support projects such as education and technical guidance will be focused on benefiting companies with fewer than 50 employees.

After listening to the difficulties of SMEs, Jang said, "I confirmed that concerns about the application of the Serious Accident Punishment Act in the industrial field are greater than expected," and explained, "There are limits and side effects to enforcing obligations only by punishing companies, so we will prepare support measures for practical preparation so that labor and management can become the main agents of industrial accident prevention together."

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