ED Overly lenient penalties
Industrial disasters should no longer be condoned
It is disappointing to see a court deliver a no-guilty verdict on a former head of a thermal power plant company who was indicted on charges of professional negligence in a high-profile case of a worker's death. On Thursday, the Seosan branch of the Daejeon District Court acquitted Kim Byung-sook, former CEO of Korea Western Power Co., of charges that his negligence of safety rules led to the death of subcontracted worker Kim Yong-gyun.
The worker was found dead Dec. 11, 2018, after getting stuck on a coal conveyor belt at the power plant in Taean, 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul. His death sparked public outrage over the company's failure to abide by safety rules. It also prompted the amendment to the Occupational Safety and Health Act in order to protect workers from industrial disasters.
Yet, the court decision is raising questions about the judiciary's willingness to get tougher on businesses for their disregard of safety standards. The court turned down the prosecution's request of a two-year jail term for the ex-CEO of the company. It said the defendant cannot be held accountable for professional negligence, although it acknowledged that there were no sufficient safety measures for subcontracted workers. What a nonsensical ruling.
Instead, the court gave an 18-month jail term, suspended for two years, to Baek Nam-ho, former chief of Korea Engineering and Power Services, a subcontracted firm to which Kim Yong-gyun belonged. It also handed down a suspended prison term or a fine to 12 other defendants. In a word, the court ruling was too light to punish those responsible for the workplace mishap.
Many legal loopholes still exist. The district court was not able to apply the revised Severe Disaster Punishment Act to the Kim case because the strengthened law went into effect last month. Any firms hiring five or more workers are subject to harsher punishment for their violation of safety rules under the strengthened law, starting Jan. 27. Therefore fatal industrial disasters, which took place before the enforcement of the changed law, cannot be dealt with more sternly.
Nevertheless, the court decision demonstrated that the nation still has a long way to go to shake off its notoriety for recording one of the highest industrial disaster and mortality rates among OECD member states. Last year industrial accidents claimed the lives of 828 workers, almost twice the OECD average. Last month alone, 36 workers died due to such disasters. Recent cases included three deaths in a landslide which took place at Sampyo Industry's quarry in Yangju, northwest of Seoul, Jan. 29. Four workers were killed and four others injured in an explosion at a petrochemical factory of Yeochun NCC in the southern city of Yeosu, Friday.
It is a pity that deadly industrial disasters have continued to take place despite the toughened law which calls for a minimum one-year prison sentence or a fine of up to 1 billion won ($833,000) on employers for causing workplace disasters. The authorities should step up a crackdown on any violators with heavier punishment. They also need to ensure that companies faithfully follow safety regulations. Most of all, state-run enterprises and large businesses should no longer try to pass the risk of industrial disasters on to subcontractors. Now, their corporate cultures should change to better protect workers.