Minister Kim Young-hoon of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, regarding the push to impose a minimum 3 billion won penalty surcharge on corporations with frequent fatal industrial accidents, said, "Taking into account the circumstances of public institutions such as the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) or Korea Electric Power Corporation, whose operating profit is not large or are in the red, we set a fixed lower limit for the penalty surcharge."
Minister Kim said this at a briefing on "Comprehensive measures for labor safety" held at the Government Complex Seoul on the 15th. The measures drawn up by the government, including the labor ministry, center on imposing a penalty surcharge of at least 3 billion won and up to 5% of operating profit on corporations where three or more people die in accidents per year.
Minister Kim said, "We will make this year the first year to shed the long-standing stigma of 'Korea is a kingdom of industrial accidents,'" adding, "We will push these plans so they do not end as a one-off remedy."
The following is a Q&A with Minister Kim
—You said the penalty surcharge will be imposed within 5% of a corporation's operating profit. Is there a reason for using 'operating profit' as the benchmark?
"If we used revenue as the benchmark, I thought the amount of the penalty surcharge would exceed what corporations can bear. To hold the public institutional sector accountable as well, such as KORAIL or KEPCO, where operating profit is not significant, we set a fixed lower limit of 3 billion won."
—If measures such as imposing a penalty surcharge, business suspension, and ensuring adequate construction periods lead builders to raise pre-sale prices, won't the public ultimately bear the cost?
"(On the contrary) if a serious accident occurs, the right to suspend work is triggered and the construction period becomes even longer. If we minimize these expenses through preventive measures, it will, in fact, prevent pre-sale prices or costs from rising. Now, safety is a brand. The automobile corporation 'Volvo' is a brand defined by safety itself."
—When will the penalty surcharge actually start being imposed?
"It is a matter that requires consultation with the National Assembly, so I cannot prejudge it. We will consult well and push for legislation within the year."
—Currently, the requirement for business suspension is when 'two or more people die simultaneously.' How many such cases are there?
"Limiting it to construction companies, there are about four cases a year where 'two or more people die simultaneously.' As for the companies that meet the standard set this time for imposing a penalty surcharge—'three or more deaths per year'—there are about seven a year."
—You plan to add 'multiple deaths in a year' to the requirements for requesting business suspension. Has a specific number been decided?
"Not yet. After fully communicating with corporations about why this system is being introduced, we will set a specific figure. Telling corporations to do better could instead act as a drag and lead to unintended accidents, which is not the direction we want. From the standpoint of asking corporations to keep pace with the government's measures this time, we left a kind of 'room' (room for consultation)."
—You said you will create a right that allows workers to actively request the employer to exercise the right to stop work. If expenses rise due to the use of the right to stop work, won't employers disadvantage workers?
"Although the worker's right to stop work has been codified in the law, many have questioned its effectiveness. There have been cases where workers were instead sued for damages and were in litigation for years. We will allow criminal punishment if unfavorable treatment is imposed when the right to stop work is exercised legitimately.
We will allow labor unions to be the主体 of the right to stop work. Furthermore, we plan to push for the introduction of a system that allows the Minister of Labor to issue an emergency order to stop work. We will institutionalize it so that the risk of industrial accidents can be avoided in practice."
—Every administration has announced comprehensive labor safety measures, yet industrial accidents have not decreased significantly. What differentiates this from past measures?
"We did not include reheated, recycled, repetitive measures. 'Ensuring adequate construction periods' can be cited as a representative example of differentiation. This has long been demanded by both labor and management. Strengthening the right to stop work without securing an adequate schedule is ineffective. Personally, I think this is a highly advanced plan.
Also, these measures were created through collaboration by all ministries, not just the labor ministry. This, too, is different from the past."
—You said you will establish a 'five-year plan for preventing serious accidents.'
"Singapore had a 20-year plan and drastically reduced industrial accidents. We will monitor this plan so it does not end as a one-off and will implement it over the long term.
We will make this year 'the first year to shed the long-standing stigma of being a kingdom of industrial accidents.' We will put an end to the disgrace that Korea has the highest industrial accident rate among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries."