President Lee Jae-myung directed ministries to prepare preventive measures against industrial accidents and stringent accountability measures, while the Democratic Party of Korea is also reportedly preparing to form a task force (TF) for amending the Serious Accident Punishment Act. This action comes in response to a series of industrial accidents, including the death of a worker at an SPC bakery, a recent suffocation incident involving a manhole worker in Incheon, and a heat-related death of a construction worker in Gumi. It is expected to be pushed forward in a manner that creates a consultative body involving labor, management, and the ruling party, considering backlash from the business community.
According to comprehensive coverage by ChosunBiz on the 9th, the Democratic Party of Korea reported a proposal to form a 'Industrial Accident Prevention TF' (tentative name) focused on the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee and the party's policy committee to Kim Byung-ki, the floor leader. The Democratic Party is considering plans to include commissioners from relevant committees such as the National Assembly's Land Committee, Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committee, and the Health and Welfare Committee in the TF. Experts from the labor-related legal field and the business sector are also expected to be included in the TF.
The main agenda items include ▲ spreading a culture of industrial safety ▲ strengthening on-site inspections ▲ preparing measures for heat wave responses due to the climate crisis. In particular, it is reported that there is a strong possibility that the agenda will include measures to ensure that workers can exercise their 'right to request a work stoppage' in dangerous situations. Proposals are being discussed to legally guarantee adequate break times when faced with disasters such as extreme heat and to specify penalties for employers who violate these regulations.
Above all, the Democratic Party of Korea plans to strengthen the 'management responsibility' of contractors in a multi-tier subcontracting structure to enhance the effectiveness of 'on-site safety management.' A representative from the Democratic Party's Environment and Labor Committee noted, "Resolving issues related to the responsibilities of safety managers within the primary and secondary subcontracting systems is a top priority," adding, "We will discuss how to train and educate safety management personnel in line with this reality."
Meanwhile, the party's policy committee is pondering ways to listen to the opinions of the business community. President Lee has accelerated pro-business moves, publicly advocating for 'corporation-centered economic growth' and regulatory reform, even meeting with the business community shortly after taking office. If the amendment of the Serious Accident Punishment Act is pursued, backlash from the business sector is inevitable. A key official in the policy committee remarked, "Simply strengthening penalties is not effective," emphasizing that "economic responsibility must be more strongly enforced than criminal liability."
These measures at the party level came just three days after President Lee directed the ministries to report on industrial accident prevention measures and post-incident accountability plans on the 5th. Earlier, President Lee stated at a cabinet meeting, "Korea has the highest rate of industrial accidents and fatalities in the world," requesting that "this is not just the work of the Ministry of Labor; all ministries must comprehensively gather measures for industrial accident prevention and ensure accountability afterward, and if necessary, prepare legislative measures to change the system for submission to the cabinet meeting."
Two days later, during a meeting with Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, President Lee asked, "Please pay special attention to ensuring that no accidents related to safety, such as industrial accidents or natural disasters that can be termed man-made, occur." On the same afternoon, he issued a 'special directive' to his aides at the presidential office, regarding the death of the Incheon manhole worker, stating, "Thoroughly clarify whether there were any shortcomings in on-site safety management, and investigate whether there were violations of the Serious Accident Punishment Act, taking strict action against those responsible."