The economic world fell into shock and frustration when the ruling and opposition politicians turned away from the appeal of “Please listen to the voices of the business community,” and enforced the Great Disaster Enterprise Punishment Act (Severe Disaster Act), which reflected large numbers of opinions from labor and civic groups. 16 small and medium-sized organizations, including the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Businesses, said on the day that “anger cannot be stopped.” The Korea Employers Federation also expressed a position that “I am sorry, and I cannot help but feel disheartened and frustrated.”
The Severe Accident Act, agreed by the opposition parties at the National Assembly Legislative Judicial Committee, rejected all demands from the economy, such as’repeal of the lower limit of punishment for employers’ and’specify mandatory regulations and some immunity to be followed by employers’. Kim Ki-moon, chairman of the Small and Medium Business Administration, appealed until the last time, asking for the upper limit of the punishment clause for employers, but he did not accept this.
SMEs’ groups commented on the day, “If the law is enforced as it is, small and medium-sized enterprises at the point of contact due to the subcontracting structure, etc., should always be plagued by anxiety that they could become criminals right away.” In this situation, we have no choice but to seriously consider the existence of the business.”
He suggested that “even in the remaining legislative process, the lower limit of imprisonment for employers should be changed to the upper limit, and the punishment of employers should be limited to’repetitive fatal accidents’.” In addition, he asked, “SMEs with 50 or more employees should give at least two years of preparation time in consideration of the poor industrial safety conditions.”
It is pointed out that the deferral system is also’famous office’ in the field. A small and medium-sized company said, “If a major disaster occurs while a subcontractor uses a subcontractor of less than 50 workers, the three-year delay is virtually meaningless,” and said, “The subcontractor must also prepare within one year.”
The National Federation of Entrepreneurs also commented, “Severe Disaster Act is a law that is bound to have a tremendous impact on our economy and corporations, and it is a law that is highly likely to violate legal principles such as the principle of clarity and responsibility. It was dealt with hastily,” he pointed out.
The backlash from entrepreneurs in the industrial field is even more intense. The chairman of a small and medium-sized cooperative association, which has more than 700 manufacturers in the metropolitan area as members, said on the news that the Severe Disaster Act passed the Legislative Review Subcommittee of the National Assembly Judiciary Committee.
He said, “It is no longer necessary to be in a country that treats companies that create jobs as criminals. Most representatives of small and medium-sized businesses in the vicinity are seriously considering how to move their factories overseas,” he said.
The president of a construction plant company said, “Following the procedure under the Severe Accident Act has nearly doubled the time and labor costs.” He said, “I am worried that the subcontracting quantity of large corporations will be drastically reduced due to the penalties for the prime minister.” In the event of a major disaster, the cost burden of SMEs is expected to increase considerably due to enormous fines and punitive damages and the cost of hiring a lawyer. Yang Ok-seok, head of the manpower policy department of the Mid-term National Federation, said, “It was investigated that 50% of the companies punished after the enforcement of the UK Corporate Mandatory Justice Act, which was the birthplace of the Severe Accident Act, also went bankrupt.” There will be many.”
Petitions against the enactment of the Severe Disaster Act are also being posted on the Blue House National Petition bulletin board. An entrepreneur in his 60s, who said he had been running a leading signboard company in Korea for 20 years, said in a petition, “If the Major Disaster Act is passed, we will not be able to continue our business.” “Consider who this law will damage and which companies will go bankrupt. Please do it” he urged.
Reporter Ahn Dae-gyu [email protected]
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