DR & AJU Legislation & Government Relations Consulting Center’s latest issue of its specialized legislative journal, the Policy & Business Report, is now available in digital format.
The regular session of the National Assembly is expected to discuss the Serious Accident Punishment Act (“SAPA”)—Businesses must closely monitor the status of the amendment.
On August 30, 2022, the Legislative Strategy Center (represented by Co-head of the Center Min Jae PARK and Gi Won KWON) of DR & AJU LLC (represented by Managing Partner Kyu Chul LEE) released the August 2022 issue of the Policy & Business (P&B) Report, a specialized legislative journal.
Ms. Min Jae PARK, co-head of the Legislative Strategy Center, stated, “Although seven months have passed since the enforcement of the SAPA, the industrial sites are still experiencing confusion due to ambiguous regulations. According to the Current Status of Fatal Accidents in the First Half of 2022 announced by the Ministry of Employment and Labor last month, although the number of fatal accidents in the first half of 2022 was 303, down 31 from the same period last year, the number rather increased in the manufacturing industry. In addition, more than half of the fatal accidents are blamed for lack of safety measures, overshadowing the purpose of the enactment of SAPA of “prevention over punishment.” Ms. Park further mentioned, “According to the multiple media outlets, the government has established a revision policy for the enforcement ordinance of the SAPA, which regards a CSO as a responsible managing officer. The Ministry of Economy and Finance forwarded a revision draft allowing the chief safety and health officer to be regarded as a responsible managing officer instead of a Chief Executive Officer.”
Mr. Gi Won KWON, co-head of the Legislative Strategy Center, suggested, “In response to the proposal, the opposition party contended that the original purpose of the Act that holds a Chief Executive Officer responsible for the occurrence of the serious accidents might fade. Earlier in June, the People Power Party proposed an amendment bill requiring the Minister of Justice to notify the standards for preventing serious accidents with the heads of relevant ministries and mitigating the punishment for the business owners and responsible managing officers who have obtained certifications such standards.” obtained a certificate related to such criteria, on the representative initiative of Daechul PARK.” He further suggested, “Businesses must closely monitor the status of the amendment as the confrontation over the SAPA is expected to continue throughout regular sessions of the National Assembly.”
As the first-ever Korean law firm to issue specialized legislative journals, DR & AJU LLC has been publishing the monthly Policy & Business Report since August 2019. The August 2022 issue of the P&B Report conducted a full inspection of legislation proposed to the National Assembly Subcommittee, Standing Committee, and Plenary Session from July 15, 2022, to August 14, 2022, and selected and analyzed legislation with a significant impact on corporate activities. In the case of major legislation, key mentions of legislators, members of the Standing Committee, and government officials are included.
Mr. Kyu Chul LEE, the Managing Partner of DR & AJU, said, “DR & AJU has established Serious Accidents Practice Group since early 2021 to help corporate executives better mitigate the legal risks to be brought about by the newly enacted Serious Accidents Punishment Act(“SAPA”), which became effective on January 27, 2022. He stressed, “Based on our experience and know-how, we will conduct a thorough review of the heightened safety and health obligations in advance, propose effective countermeasures against various difficulties faced by companies to prevent problems after the law’s implementation, and provide legal support.”
*Please download the PDF file for further information. (Korean)
