Small companies struggle to find CEOs due to toughened penalty on accidents

 

 

 

 

An increasing number of small and medium-sized builders are struggling to find CEOs due to a strengthened law on industrial accidents that has scared off potential managerial candidates, according to analysts Thursday.

Under the new industrial accident law which went into effect Jan. 27, the heads of companies could face a minimum of one year in prison for fatal industrial accidents involving a death at a workplace found to have failed to take necessary safety measures.

Few people are willing to risk a prison term following intense public scrutiny of the construction, manufacturing and shipbuilding industries, since they feel the law lacks clarity in defining preventive measures, while clearly outlining only penalties.

Analysts point out that there is little causal relationship between harsh punishment and accident prevention, causing more firms to have a tough time finding top decision-makers, while corporate management activities are undermined in the process.

Amplifying the collective reluctance are the deaths of three construction workers in a landslide at a quarry owned by construction material maker Sampyo in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 29, only two days after the new law took effect. Industry watchers say the level of punishment concerning the first case subject to the new law will largely set the tone going forward.

 

Words in This Story

strengthen- v to make stronger; to become stronger

preventive - adj  devoted to or concerned with prevention; precautionary 

analyst- n a person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis

amplify- v to expand (something, such as a statement) by the use of detail or illustration or by closer analysis

reluctance- 1: the quality or state of being reluctant2: the opposition offered in a magnetic circuit to magnetic flux specifically: the ratio of the magnetic potential difference to the corresponding flux

 

 

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https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/tech/2022/02/419_323245.html