Suncheon City Accelerates Construction of a 'More Comfortable and Safer City'

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Suncheon City announced on the 23rd that it will establish and vigorously implement a variety of new year work plans in the safety sector this year under the vision of “Completing a More Comfortable and Happier Smart Safety City, Suncheon.”

Suncheon City was the first in Jeonnam to be certified as an International Safe City in 2018 and received the Presidential Award for Safety Culture. Last year, it also received the Dasan Safety Award from Jeollanam-do, making it recognized nationwide as a “city where life is comfortable and safe.”

Throughout the year, the city plans to actively promote the recertification as an International Safe City by creating a safe urban environment through efforts to expand “people-centered safety infrastructure” to protect citizens’ lives and property from various disasters and accidents.

As detailed policy measures, new initiatives such as the “Suncheon City Safety Culture Award” and “Citizen Safety Insurance Enrollment” will be implemented, while focusing on policies like “Creating Safe Return Paths for Women and Children,” “Incentive Support for Elderly Drivers Returning Their Driver’s Licenses,” and “Strengthening the Operation of the International Safe City Subcommittee.”

▲ Implementation of ‘Citizen Safety Insurance’ to Guarantee Disaster Safety

To help citizens quickly return to daily life and stabilize their living conditions after suffering damage from various major accidents and disasters, the city will implement “Citizen Safety Insurance” as a new policy.

The coverage includes 11 items such as death and permanent disability caused by natural disasters, explosions, fires, collapses, landslides, and public transportation accidents, with support up to 20 million KRW.

Suncheon City enacted the “Suncheon City Citizen Safety Insurance Operation Ordinance” last year and plans to complete the selection of an insurance company and contract signing by February this year to begin payment and management of the citizen safety insurance.

▲ Selection of ‘Suncheon City Safety Culture Award’ to Promote Citizen Safety Awareness and Safety Culture

Suncheon City selects and awards the “Suncheon City Safety Culture Award” to promote the prevention of safety accidents and the spread of safety culture among citizens.

The award targets individuals and organizations with clear contributions to enhancing safety culture in areas such as fire, traffic accidents, crime, infectious diseases, natural disasters, and safety accidents (3 individuals and 3 organizations). Awardees receive 1 million KRW per individual and 3 million KRW per organization.

Applications and nominations for awardees will be accepted from March through public announcement until September, with awards presented in December.

▲ Incentive Support for Elderly Drivers Returning Their Driver’s Licenses

The “Elderly Driver’s License Return” program, first implemented last year, provides incentives to seniors aged 70 and above who voluntarily return their driver’s licenses.

Each person receives a one-time incentive of a transportation card or gift certificate worth 100,000 KRW. Last year, 275 people returned their licenses and received incentives. License returns are accepted at the Suncheon Police Station’s General Civil Affairs Office.

▲ Creating Safe Return Paths for Women to Prevent Crime

Safe return paths for women and children will be created to ensure women living in alleys near schools and areas densely populated with one-room apartments can return home safely from various crimes.

Last year, the area around Shinhung Middle School in Yeonhyang-dong was established as a pilot zone, and the city plans to expand this initiative this year to create a safe CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) environment.

Additionally, Suncheon City has secured the necessary budget to expand traffic safety facilities, including large-scale education and publicity to halve traffic accident fatalities, installation of multifunctional (speed and signal) unmanned enforcement cameras, forward-facing traffic lights, ground-level pedestrian signals, and yellow traffic lights in school zones.

A Suncheon City official said, “Marking the third year since being certified as an International Safe City, we have selected five major focus tasks: ‘More Comfortable Safe City Suncheon,’ ‘International Safe City Recertification,’ ‘Pilot Installation of Clean Roads for Heatwave Preparedness,’ ‘Prevention of Child Traffic Accidents,’ and ‘Establishment of a Smart City Integrated Platform.’ We will proceed centered on people, sites, and daily life.” He added, “We ask all citizens to actively participate and pool wisdom together to create a city that is safe and happy for everyone, everywhere.”