Pact ratified to compensate foreign workers for workplace accidents

In a meeting chaired by President Kim Dae-Jung Monday, cabinet members ratified an agreement entitling foreign workers to the same level of compensation as Koreans receive for work-related accidents.

The participants also passed three International Labor Organization (ILO) covenants prohibiting forced child labor and prostitution, the production of obscene materials, and gender discrimination against workers who are their families` main breadwinners.

The government also decided to introduce an insurance program covering agricultural products such as pears and apples, under which farmers would receive compensation for losses sustained due to natural disasters such as typhoons, hailstorms and heavy frost. It also approved a revised regulation in the automobile control law to shorten the period for the forced sale of abandoned vehicles to 20 days after notification of their owners. The current period is one month.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com