Ministry of the Interior and Safety Launches Nationwide 'Safety Idea' Contest Inviting Public Participation

'Challenge and Safety Society' Theme Until March 24

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Collecting the public’s creative ideas on disaster and safety to improve systems and solve difficult problems.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 18th that from the 19th to March 24th, it will conduct the “Challenge·Safe Society” national idea contest, where all citizens nationwide can participate together to find solutions. Since 2020, the Ministry has been promoting the “Challenge Korea” project, which solicits creative ideas from the public to solve social problems around us. Over three years, idea contests were held for a total of 48 tasks, and 120 excellent ideas, such as the “Wildfire monitoring device using IoT and AI,” were selected and pilot projects were implemented.

“Challenge·Safe Society” is the first contest task of “Challenge Korea” in 2023, targeting 10 major disaster and accident types under the “Disaster and Safety Management Basic Act.” Anyone interested in solving disaster and safety issues, including citizens, companies, and organizations, can participate. The contest is conducted by discovering safety-related problems and proposing solutions for each contest category. One person can participate in multiple categories and submit multiple ideas. Those wishing to participate can download the idea proposal form from the “Challenge Korea > Challenge·Safe Society” menu within On-Gukmin Communication during the contest period, complete it online, and submit it.

Due to the increasing public interest and importance of disaster safety, 10 task categories were selected focusing on disaster safety accident areas that are closely related to citizens’ lives and frequently occur, through meetings with related ministries.

Submitted ideas will be evaluated by a “Judging Committee” formed by the respective field’s managing institution, considering the importance of the task and the feasibility of problem-solving to select excellent ideas. Afterwards, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to determine award levels through the “Challenge·Safe Society Award Deliberation Committee” and then provide prize money. Additionally, highly feasible excellent ideas will be promptly reflected in related ministries’ policies.

Jung Seonyong, Director of Government Innovation Organization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “Efforts are needed to reexamine disaster safety systems from the public’s perspective and discover improvement tasks to create a safer society,” adding, “The government will actively reflect ideas presented from various public viewpoints into policies.”