Starting This Year, Safety Grade Evaluation Reflected in Public Institution Performance Assessment

2021 Safety Management Grade Evaluation Begins...Stricter Restrictions on Public Enterprise Project Participation Without Safety Management Capability

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government will, ahead of the enforcement of the Serious Accident Punishment Act on the 27th, for the first time reflect safety grade evaluation results in this year's public institution management performance assessment. Additionally, for construction projects ordered by public institutions related to roads, railways, and housing, bidding by contractors without safety management capabilities will be restricted by changing the safety item in the pre-qualification review from the current 'deduction system' to a formal 'scoring evaluation.'

On the 26th, Ando Geol, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, attended the '2021 Safety Management Grade Evaluation Kick-off Meeting and Evaluation Team Workshop' held at the Seoul Regional Public Procurement Service, where he presented appointment letters to the evaluation team leader and members, announcing these measures.

Vice Minister An explained, "This is not a one-time evaluation but a plan to induce continuous improvement of safety management capabilities in public institutions," adding, "We have expanded participation of on-site workers in risk assessments and strengthened on-site verification for all institutions."

To this end, performance evaluations will be conducted in parallel, including quantitative assessments of changes in industrial accident fatalities and non-quantitative assessments of efforts to reduce accidents.

In particular, bidding by contractors lacking safety management capabilities for construction projects ordered by public institutions will be further restricted. A contract special case will be piloted within the first quarter to strengthen the safety item in the pre-qualification review for bidders on projects ordered by public institutions related to roads, railways, and housing, changing from credibility evaluation (deduction system) to formal scoring evaluation, with consideration for formal institutionalization through contract regulation revisions in the future.

The evaluation will be conducted from February to April through document review, on-site verification, and objection procedures, followed by a full evaluation team meeting at the end of April, and the final results will be confirmed in early May through a report to the Public Institution Management Committee.