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| Kim Tae-nyeon, the representative of the Democratic Party, (left), is receiving a “Small and Medium Business Position on Enactment of the Major Disaster Act” from Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Small and Medium Business Administration, at a meeting with SMEs related to the Severe Accident Business Punishment Act held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the afternoon of the 4th. 2021.1.4/News1 © News1 Reporter Park Se-yeon |
On the 4th, the small and medium-sized business community visited the Democratic Party and urged them to reflect the difficult reality of small and medium-sized businesses and small businesses in the enactment of the Act on Punishment for Companies with Serious Accidents.
On this afternoon, the Democratic Party and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) group meetings were held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of this day.
In the SME sector, Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Small Business Federation, Kim Young-yoon, chairman of the Korea Specialized Construction Association, Jeong Dal-hong, chairman of the Korea Machinery & Equipment Construction Association, Kim Im-yong, chairman of the Small Business Association, Seok Yong-chan, chairman of the Korea Management Innovation Small and Medium Business Association, and Bae Jo-woong, vice chairman of the Small and Medium Business Federation. The meeting was held privately.
If the enactment of the Severe Accident Act is inevitable on this day, these organizations should clearly stipulate the employer’s obligations at a realistic level and at least avoid punishment if the company has fulfilled its obligations. They requested that the punishment be limited to the case of an accident △The lower limit of imprisonment for employers should be changed to the upper limit.
The Democratic Party has expressed its willingness to partially reflect the appeals of small and medium-sized businesses and self-employed people, etc., who have been driven to survival in the aftermath of Corona 19 (a novel coronavirus infection), but did not specifically mention it.
One of the key issues of the bill is whether to include the Severe Disaster Act for public-use facilities such as multi-use businesses. The Democratic Party is reviewing the reduction of the scope of application, saying that if multi-use businesses are included in the penalties, it may increase the burden on self-employed persons or small business owners, and insisting that the power of the people is excluded from the application. On the other hand, the Justice Party insisted on maintaining the original plan, saying that if public facilities are excluded from the application of the law, disasters such as the fire accident at the Jecheon Sports Center in 2017 cannot be prevented.
Democratic Party spokesman Hong Jeong-min said, “Small and medium-sized business organizations asked for the facts of SMEs and small businessmen to be reflected in the enactment of the Severe Accident Act.” I said I would do it.”
In response, Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Small and Medium Business Federation, responded, “If the legislation is realistically reflected so that it is not difficult to do business, we will try to improve industrial accidents,” said a spokesperson in Won Hong. However, the Democratic Party was reluctant to comment on how to reflect the demands of SMEs and self-employed in the bill.
On the other hand, it is still undecided whether a plenary session will be held on the 8th to deal with the severe disaster corporate punishment law.
Spokesperson Hong said, “We are trying our best to reach an agreement between the parties (to hold a plenary meeting on the 8th). “Our goal is to do it unconditionally on the 8th.”
The Democratic Party plans to complete the review by the Judiciary Committee on the Severe Disaster Law this week and make a decision at the plenary session. However, it is expected that there will be difficulties in drawing up an agreement as the opinions of the opposition parties disagree over the grace period for applying the law according to the size of the workplace or whether multi-use businesses are included.