"Full Prevention Effort" Gyeongnam Province Establishes Dedicated Organization for 'Serious Accidents'

Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Government.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Gyeongsangnam-do announced on the 26th that it is making every effort to prevent disasters by establishing a comprehensive plan for responding to and preventing major industrial accidents ahead of the enforcement of the "Serious Accident Punishment Act," including setting up a safety and health management system for the target facilities.

The Serious Accident Punishment Act, which will be enforced from the 27th, aims ultimately to prevent serious accidents by placing safety at the center of management and fulfilling obligations to ensure safety and health.

The law stipulates that "management officials" who neglect their obligations to ensure safety and health in the event of a serious accident at relevant workplaces will be punished, prompting busy movements at the target institutions ahead of the law's enforcement.

So far, Gyeongnam Province has actively prepared to prevent and respond to serious accidents.

In December last year, a general department was designated to promote serious industrial accident prevention tasks, and dedicated personnel were assigned to form a task force for current issues. Since then, through collaboration with each relevant department, they have established a system to fulfill legal obligations and respond accordingly.

Additionally, risk assessments have been completed at workplaces under the province’s jurisdiction, and a proactive and active industrial safety and health system has been prepared, including establishing emergency action plans with guidelines for responding to serious accidents.

Along with this, safety plans have been established for the target facilities, safety and health management systems have been set up, including procedures for disaster prevention tasks, and safety management has been further strengthened by conducting special inspections in preparation for holidays at public facilities subject to the law.

Going forward, harmful and dangerous factors will be identified through regular, occasional, and special inspections, compliance with various obligations under safety and health-related laws and completion of training will be checked, and if problems are found, improvement measures will be prepared to take management actions to ensure safety.

Ha Byung-pil, Acting Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, said, "This year, we are making the safety of residents the top priority of provincial administration and striving to realize a 'Safe Gyeongnam, Happy Residents.' We will solidify the response system for preventing serious accidents and do our best to create a safe and happy Gyeongnam for our residents."

Meanwhile, Gyeongsangnam-do will establish the "Serious Industrial Accident Division" and the "Serious Citizen Accident Division" through an organizational restructuring scheduled for February.