Do You Know the Ombudsman, Another Warrior Fighting Industrial Accidents?

KOSHA Introduces 'Ombudsman System' to Monitor Industrial Accident Prevention Projects from the Public's Perspective

'KOSHA Ombudsman System' Assigned to Oversee and Evaluate the Corporation's Policies and Practices

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Did you know that an 'Ombudsman' is actively working to eliminate industrial accidents?

The 'Ombudsman' system, a civil complaint investigation service that protects citizens' basic rights in industrial accident prevention projects, has been introduced and is actively operating.

On the 18th, the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) announced that it operates the 'KOSHA Ombudsman' system to monitor and evaluate major agency projects from the public's perspective, ensuring that industrial accident prevention projects are conducted transparently and rationally.

The KOSHA Ombudsman system was introduced to continuously monitor and evaluate corruption factors by having four ombudsmen, including academics and external private experts related to agency projects, identify and recommend improvements for unreasonable systems, practices, and work processes within the agency.

This year, the agency appointed four KOSHA Ombudsmen and held the first meeting on March 25.

The four appointed ombudsmen monitor and evaluate institutional improvements and unfair practices in five customer-facing projects, including support for safety facility improvement subsidies.

The five projects are: ① Special Planning Inspections, ② Safety Investment Innovation Projects, ③ Health Management Cards, ④ Certification Product Performance Testing, and ⑤ Clean Projects.

When there is a high risk of fraud or corruption or when complaints are expected, the agency decided to immediately link the relevant areas to audits.

At the second meeting held on the 18th, discussions were held on the agency's follow-up actions regarding the recommendations presented by the ombudsmen and on the 2021 plans for improving integrity and preventing corruption.

The agency plans to proactively improve institutional vulnerabilities and corruption factors through quarterly meetings.

The agency introduced and operated the Ombudsman system in 2010, and last year, following the ombudsmen's recommendations, achieved improvements in the price calculation standards for Clean Project support items and the evaluation criteria for hazardous risk prevention plans in manufacturing industries.

Cho Byung-gi, Standing Auditor of KOSHA, said, "We will expand the authority and role of the KOSHA Ombudsman to preemptively identify and block internal and external corruption factors within the agency and promote fair and transparent industrial accident prevention projects, thereby becoming a public institution trusted by the people."