The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_X_on_2023.svgbt_X_over_2023.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
  • Hangzhou Asian Games
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_X_on_2023.svgbt_X_over_2023.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    BTS' V and BLACKPINK's Jennie break up: sources

  • 3

    Italy withdraws from China's Belt and Road project

  • 5

    Uncertainty lingers despite BLACKPINK's contract renewal

  • 7

    YG Entertainment's stock price soars over renewed contract with BLACKPINK

  • 9

    TvN's upcoming music drama 'Maestra' weaves suspenseful love story with twists

  • 11

    Yoon expected to replace foreign minister soon

  • 13

    Rising Thai politician seeks to tackle growing challenges between Seoul, Bangkok

  • 15

    INTERVIEWNamseoul University leads adoption of innovative IB education programs

  • 17

    Hotels grapple with chronic staff shortages

  • 19

    Naver takes on YouTube, AfreecaTV in game streaming

  • 2

    Korea could disappear from map if it doesn't welcome more immigrants: justice minister

  • 4

    Late K-pop star Moonbin's memorial space shut down after fans complain

  • 6

    Korean students rank among top performers among OECD nations in educational performance: report

  • 8

    Senior citizens take up half of new job posts in 2022: data

  • 10

    Boeing eyes more Chinook helicopter exports to S. Korea

  • 12

    KAI boosts partnerships with Egypt at defense fair

  • 14

    INTERVIEWKorea has great opportunity to lead green transition

  • 16

    Twitch plans to shut down in Korea over high network costs

  • 18

    Apple ordered to pay 70,000 won each to 7 iPhone users for device slowdown

  • 20

    Real estate project financing poses biggest risk to Korean economy in 2024: S&P, NICE

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Fri, December 8, 2023 | 12:59
Politics
Both employers, employees unsatisfied with new industrial accident law
Posted : 2021-01-08 15:56
Updated : 2021-01-10 18:27
Yi Whan-woo
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Lawmakers attend a plenary session at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. They later voted to pass a bill aimed at preventing deadly industrial accidents. Yonhap
Lawmakers attend a plenary session at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Friday. They later voted to pass a bill aimed at preventing deadly industrial accidents. Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

Both business owners and their employees have expressed dissatisfaction with a new law aimed at preventing serious accidents at workplaces that imposes tougher punishments on company managers found to be responsible for dangerous breaches of safety requirements.

Initiated by the minor opposition Justice Party, a severe industrial accident law was passed at the National Assembly in a plenary session, Friday.

The law is aimed at preventing serious injury or death at workplaces resulting from a lax implementation of safety measures and is intended to push companies to fundamentally ensure a safer working environment by holding CEOs and business owners responsible for any incident.

It was sought following several fatal industrial accidents resulting from insufficient safety measures, including the death of Kim Yong-gyun, a 24-year-old worker of a subcontractor to Korea Western Power, at a power plant in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, in 2018. Kim's death caught particular media attention as he had participated in a social media challenge to promote the need for safer working conditions before he was killed in a workplace accident caused by failures to follow safety measures.

Under the new law, business owners and CEOs can face at least one year in jail or a fine of up to 1 billion won ($911,000) if they are found to have been negligent in enforcing safety measures when a deadly workplace accident occurred. Corporate entities or institutions, if held responsible, can also be fined up to 5 billion won.

The new measures are more severe than those of an existing law that has been criticized as being "sloppy," because usually only low-ranking corporate officials were punished for "severe accidents" or the death of a worker.

Nevertheless, the new law provoked an outcry from business owners and a coalition representing workers.

In a statement, the Korean Enterprises Federation (KEF) called the law "politically motivated" and said that business owners' voices were ignored from the beginning when the draft bill was proposed and again when it underwent a parliamentary revision.

"The level of the punishment is excessive, and there is no clause on immunity from responsibility even when the CEO fulfills all required duties," the KEF said.

A coalition of 14 groups representing small and mid-sized companies also said company owners would have to worry about being labelled criminals at any time because small firms do not have the money that large firms have to invest in safety measures.

The Justice Party and unions are not satisfied, either.

They argue that many of the initial stipulations had been excluded while undergoing discussions led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The law exempts companies from punishment if they have fewer than five workers or have a workplace less than 1,000 square meters in size.

However, according to the Justice Party and umbrella unions, small businesses with fewer than five workers account for nearly 80 percent of all business entities nationwide, and slightly more than 20 percent of all workplace deaths in 2019 took place at such small companies.

They also said businesses with a workplace larger than 1,000 square meters only account for 2.51 percent of the total.

This means most businesses will be excluded from punishment, and the law therefore will hinder efforts to curb work-related accidents and deaths, according to the Justice Party.

"The law has been diluted from what was originally proposed. Businesses of all sizes should be subject to the legislation, particularly small companies," Justice Party spokeswoman Jeong Ho-in said.

The party also denounced the law for dropping several other hardline stipulations and softening the initial proposals, such as lowering the minimum jail term from two years to one year and introducing a three-year grace period for companies with fewer than 50 employees after the law goes into effect.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the two major umbrella unions, viewed the level of punishment as "only a slap on the wrist."

"We highly doubt whether the Assembly and the government have any determination to root out serious workplace accidents," the union said in a statement. "The law omits key elements and turned out to be a tattered document. This is not a law for punishment but for exemption."


Emailyistory@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
wooribank
LG group
Top 10 Stories
1'Moon gov't neglected, concealed North's killing of S. Korean official' 'Moon gov't neglected, concealed North's killing of S. Korean official'
2Photo of Samsung chief's playful pose goes viral Photo of Samsung chief's playful pose goes viral
3Major hospitals struggle to recruit pediatricians Major hospitals struggle to recruit pediatricians
4SK reshuffles top management focusing on generational shift SK reshuffles top management focusing on generational shift
5'Soundtrack #2' tells classic yet realistic love story 'Soundtrack #2' tells classic yet realistic love story
6Pro-Palestine protests in Seoul concern Israeli ambassador Pro-Palestine protests in Seoul concern Israeli ambassador
7K-dramas, beauty, food to maintain popularity on TikTok in 2024 K-dramas, beauty, food to maintain popularity on TikTok in 2024
8Auction house Phillips appoints new regional director of Korea Auction house Phillips appoints new regional director of Korea
9Lawyer of Korean descent selected as chair of Dentons Global Board Lawyer of Korean descent selected as chair of Dentons Global Board
10[INTERVIEW] 'Now is time for Koreans to unlock potential in Africa' INTERVIEW'Now is time for Koreans to unlock potential in Africa'
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] Meet the man behind giant rubber ducks that once took over Seoul INTERVIEWMeet the man behind giant rubber ducks that once took over Seoul
2'Soundtrack #2' tells classic yet realistic love story 'Soundtrack #2' tells classic yet realistic love story
3Auction house Phillips appoints new regional director of Korea Auction house Phillips appoints new regional director of Korea
4[REVIEW] Musical 'Monte Cristo' returns with riveting tale of vengeance, love REVIEWMusical 'Monte Cristo' returns with riveting tale of vengeance, love
5Late K-pop star Moonbin's memorial space shut down after fans complain Late K-pop star Moonbin's memorial space shut down after fans complain
DARKROOM
  • It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

    It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

  • 2023 Thanksgiving parade in NYC

    2023 Thanksgiving parade in NYC

  • Appreciation of autumn colors

    Appreciation of autumn colors

  • Our children deserve better

    Our children deserve better

  • Israel-Gaza conflict erupts into war

    Israel-Gaza conflict erupts into war

  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel: 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844
Date of registration: 2020.02.05
Masthead: The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group