Full implementation of the Serious Disaster Act cannot be stopped...Employment and Labor Minister ``Minimizes confusion at the site'' = South Korea

A bill to revise the Serious Disaster Punishment Law (Major Disaster Law), which was proposed by the South Korean government and ruling party and would extend the full enforcement of the Serious Disaster Punishment Law for workplaces with fewer than 50 employees for two years, has failed due to opposition from the Democratic Party and other opposition parties.
won. Therefore, from the 27th of this month, the law will also apply to workplaces with fewer than 50 employees. The South Korean government has designated approximately three months from next week as an intensive implementation period for the ``Industrial Safety Diagnosis'', and will conduct on-site inspections.
Our policy is to do our best to minimize confusion. Minister of Employment and Labor Lee Jung-sik held a press conference on the 25th at the government building in Seoul and said, ``On the field (of companies), there are 837,000 companies.
In light of the poor environment and insufficient preparedness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the employment of the 8 million people who work there, we have called for the amendment bill to be passed quickly.
``In the end, I cannot help but feel disappointed that the legislation failed to pass the Diet's door,'' he said. Mr. Lee said, ``When I went to the site directly, I found that safety and health management as required by law was being carried out.
Some small and medium-sized business representatives said that they did not even know whether they were covered by the law, let alone establish a system."
"The priority is to focus all available capacity on helping companies with fewer than 50 people establish health and safety management systems as early as possible."
On top of that, he said, ``We will promote the ``Support Measures for Businesses in Sectors Vulnerable to Serious Disasters'' jointly announced by related ministries and agencies on December 27 last year as quickly and seamlessly as possible.''
'', he emphasized. For about three months starting next week, the government will diagnose the safety and health management systems of about 837,000 companies with fewer than 50 employees.
The company plans to provide consulting, education, and technical guidance for building a health management system, as well as financial support including facility improvements. Additionally, we have set up and operated Industrial Safety Major Diagnosis Consultation and Support Centers nationwide, and
If requested by the company, the on-site dispatch team will visit directly and assist in remediating the problem. Meanwhile, a ``Major Disaster Countermeasures Promotion Group'' will be established, with the participation of related departments and experts. Along with this
The ``Joint Safety Management Expert Support Project'' will be implemented this year to jointly select experts for small companies that have difficulty selecting safety and health management experts.
Mr. Lee said, ``We will faithfully implement the contents included in the support measures that we announced earlier, and we will not only continue to do so, but will also provide 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars.
We will continue our efforts to promote support measures on a scale of 100,000 yen, and to supplement any gaps through changes in fund management plans in consultation with fiscal authorities.''
In addition, ``As the Serious Disaster Act will be expanded from the 27th, if an unfortunate fatal accident occurs at a company with fewer than 50 employees,
In the same way, no one, without exception, will be investigated for violations of the Serious Disaster Act based on laws and principles." Check it out
We will conduct a strict investigation." Finally, ``Although the bill to revise the Serious Disaster Act was not passed by the Diet, the government will do its best to minimize the confusion on the ground that will result from the expanded application of the law.''
I promised. The Serious Accident Act stipulates that business owners and managers will be punished if a serious accident that results in the death of a worker occurs at a workplace. Specifically, ``one or more deaths occur.''
``When two or more people are injured in the same accident requiring treatment for more than six months'' ``When three or more people suffer from occupational diseases such as acute poisoning due to the same harmful factor within one year'' Applicable if
used. The law was passed at the plenary session of the Diet on January 8, 2021, and went into effect on January 27 of the following year. Prior to full-scale implementation, we will be working with less than 50 full-time workers (construction cost less than 5 billion won).
Enforcement was suspended for two years for small businesses. However, the business community has requested an extension of the grace period ahead of the law's implementation on the 27th of this month, citing lack of preparation and human resources. In response, the ruling party
Lim I-ja, a lawmaker from the People's Power, proposed a new two-year moratorium as a representative, but in the end, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement and it was not passed at the plenary session that day.