The government has called on the National Assembly to pass a revision bill extending the grace period for the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act by two years for businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

Labor minister Lee Jung-sik, SMEs minister Oh Young-ju and land minister Park Sang-woo held a joint press conference on Wednesday, stressing that a session of the parliamentary judiciary and legislation committee set for later in the day is the bill’s last chance to pass.

The ministers said small businesses with fewer than 50 workers have made efforts to prepare for the enforcement of the act during the past two-year grace period despite poor hiring and budget conditions.

The businesses, however, are still unprepared as they continue to face post-pandemic difficulties amid an overall economic downturn, according to the ministers.

With heads of most small- to medium-sized companies overseeing production, planning, sales and safety management, any punishment meted out for violating the act would put their businesses at risk, threatening the job security of over eight million workers.

Should the bill pass, the ministers pledged to work together with the businesses during the extended grace period to establish a health and safety management system for such companies.

If the extension does not pass this week, the law will be imposed on small businesses from Saturday. Under the act, business owners face a minimum one-year prison term or a fine of up to one billion won, or around 747-thousand U.S. dollars, upon the death or serious injury of an employee in the workplace.