Assembly passes bill reinforcing worksite safety for temporary, contract workers
Kim Mi-sook, second from left, mother of Kim Yong-gyun, a subcontract worker who died in a conveyor belt accident earlier this month, sits with her eyes closed and hands folded together while watching the National Assembly's general assembly on Thursday. Yonhap
The revision will take effect in January.
The National Assembly on Thursday passed a revised bill aimed at strengthening industrial safety measures amid public anger over the recent death of a young contract worker at a power plant.
The bill calls for contractors to take measures to better ensure the safety of irregular and contract workers and mandates stiffer punishment in the event of accidents.
The so-called Kim Yong-gyun act is named after a 24-year-old subcontract worker who was killed in a conveyor belt accident earlier this month at a power plant in Taean, about 150 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
His death has sparked public uproar about contract workers' safety and treatment at workplaces and prompted lawmakers to deliberate on the bill for its passage at the final plenary session of this year.
The grieving mother hugs Lee Hae-chan, chairman of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, after the National Assembly passed a bill meant to reinforce worksite safety for temporary and contract workers on Thursday. Yonhap
Last week, the parties agreed in principle to revise the motion so as to limit the outsourcing of high-risk work and guarantee employees' right to halt work in case of possible risk.
The parties reached a compromise over two sticking points ― contractors' responsibility for the prevention of industrial accidents and the level of punishment for employers in case of fatal accidents.
The Assembly also passed a motion calling for giving 100,000 won ($89.17) per month to parents of children under age six regardless of their income.
Currently, families in the top 10 percent of the income bracket are not entitled to the subsidy.
The revision will take effect next month.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly committee on education designated a set of three bills on private kindergartens as "fast-track" legislation amid partisan wrangling.
The parties sparred over details of the bills aimed at improving accounting transparency at private kindergartens to curb their irregularities.
The National Assembly can designate a bill that fails to get multi-partisan support as a fast-track proposal if three-fifths of lawmakers approve the move in a standing committee meeting or plenary session.
Once a bill is fast-tracked, it can be put to a vote at a plenary session without deliberation or approval by relevant committees.
Earlier in the day, the parties agreed to hold a meeting next Monday of the Assembly steering committee amid allegations that Cheong Wa Dae may have illegally collected information about private citizens.
Prosecutors searched the presidential office on Wednesday as part of their investigation into the allegations after Kim Tae-woo, a special inspector from the prosecution, said recently he had conducted illegal surveillance while working for Cheong Wa Dae.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) filed a complaint against top presidential officials, including chief of staff Im Jong-seok and Cho Kuk, top presidential secretary for civil affairs, in connection to the allegations. (Yonhap)