Need for Education and Psychological Support for 1:1 Dedicated Public Officials
"Bereaved Families Integrated Support Center Should Be Managed by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters"
Amid a series of major disasters last year, including the Jeju Air passenger plane accident, opinions have been raised on the need to systematize support by clearly defining the main body responsible for assisting bereaved families.
According to the Legislative Research Service's report titled "Current Status and Improvement Tasks of the Disaster Victims' Bereaved Families Support System" on the 19th, the '1:1 Dedicated Public Official System for Bereaved Families,' established after the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014, is positively evaluated for assigning a dedicated public official to each bereaved family to provide tailored services. Additionally, to strengthen support for bereaved families, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety is simultaneously piloting the operation of the 'Bereaved Families Integrated Support Center.'
However, it is pointed out that the support system lacks a legal basis and is ambiguous in terms of the scope of support. Since local government officials are seconded and assigned, there may be disparities in support depending on the individual capabilities of the officials. The report stated, "Due to a lack of expertise in various demands and necessary matters such as livelihood security for disaster victims and bereaved families, compensation and relief procedures, various documents, and funeral procedures, there are limits to the support that dedicated public officials for bereaved families can provide."
Dedicated public officials themselves may feel burdened as they are assigned to tasks without sufficient related experience or expertise. The work guidelines do not practically help in performing duties, and they may also experience psychological trauma in the process of dealing with bereaved families.
There are also calls for clearly defining the operating body of the Bereaved Families Integrated Support Center. In the Jeju Air passenger plane accident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport took charge of operating the Integrated Support Center. Disaster management agencies are designated according to disaster types, and accordingly, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport took the role of the center director. The ministry was responsible for accident response, recovery, and support for bereaved families. The Legislative Research Service noted, "In cases where a specific disaster occurs, the designated disaster management agency often has not experienced that disaster even once within ten years," adding, "Support for bereaved families is a new area for them, so they inevitably lack know-how and expertise, making it difficult to properly support disaster victims and their families."
Accordingly, there is a need to strengthen education for the 1:1 dedicated public officials and to have a single ministry manage support for bereaved families affected by disasters. The Legislative Research Service stated, "Dedicated public officials should receive education and training regarding their conduct and precautions when dealing with victims and bereaved families," and added, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which operates the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, should be responsible for the Bereaved Families Integrated Support Center for all disasters to provide consistent support for bereaved families and to develop the disaster bereaved families support system."
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