Full implementation of the Serious Accident Act, which was postponed for 3 years, postponed for another 2 years? ‥ Party and government “actively promote it”

◀ Anchor ▶

The ‘Serious Accident Punishment Act’, which severely punishes employers if a worker dies due to a company’s neglect of safety obligations, has been in effect for two years.

The application of the law was scheduled to be expanded to small and medium-sized businesses with less than 50 employees starting next month, but the government and the ruling party decided to actively pursue a plan to delay it for another two years.

The labor community is strongly opposed.

This is reporter Son Ha-neul’s report.

◀ Report ▶

Ahead of the full implementation of the Serious Accident Punishment Act scheduled for the 27th of next month, the President’s Office, the government, and the ruling party agreed to pass an amendment to the law in the National Assembly to delay application to companies with less than 50 employees by two years.

[박정하 / 국민의힘 수석대변인]

″Reflecting the urgent appeal from the field that if the Severe Accident Punishment Act is fully applied, it could lead to the closure of small businesses and job losses… ″

The government explained that it had failed to adequately prepare approximately 800,000 companies over the past three years.

Last September, the People Power Party proposed a bill to amend the law, including an “additional two-year postponement,” but there has been no progress in discussions so far due to opposition from the opposition party.

However, the Democratic Party of Korea recently changed its position, saying that it could consider a two-year postponement provided that ‘the government makes an official apology, establishes a plan to ensure safety during the grace period, and commits to full implementation after two years.’

[홍익표 / 더불어민주당 원내대표(지난달 23일)]

″If the government and ruling party wish to minimize confusion on the ground and resolve the concerns of companies, I hope they will begin discussions by meeting these three conditions I mentioned.″

As the cooperation of the Democratic Party is essential for the passage of the deferral bill, the government and ruling party also indicated their intention to accept the Democratic Party’s demands.

However, the strong opposition from the labor community is still a variable.

Previously, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions delivered 60,000 signatures of workers and citizens to the National Assembly, urging the repeal of the moratorium bill.

[윤택근 / 민주노총 위원장 직무대행]

″Aren’t many workers dying because they were viewed as mere parts? If you were to ask for another two-year grace period, what would you change?”

The Federation of Korean Trade Unions also criticized this as “a behavior that shows the true nature of the Yoon Seok-yeol government following its veto of the ‘Yellow Envelope Act.’”

As the government and the ruling party push for a postponement, the Democratic Party also agrees on the premise that the government apologizes and prepares countermeasures, and the Serious Accident Act, which was enacted two years after the death of the late worker Kim Yong-gyun, is in a position to be fully implemented only in 2026, five years after its enactment. It was.

This is Son Ha-neul from MBC News.

Video coverage: Jong-il Park/Video editing: Chi-young Yoon