30 Disaster Management Organizations Unite for "Safe Gwangju"

City Holds First Safety Management Committee Meeting of the Year to Discuss Disaster Preparedness
Safety Campaigns, Workplace Safety Signs, and Slogan Displays Planned

On the 30th, Gwangju City held the "1st Safety Management Committee Meeting of 2025" at the Chungmu Facility of City Hall, attended by officials from local disaster management responsible organizations. Photo by Gwangju City

On May 31, Gwangju City announced that on the 30th, it held the "1st Safety Management Committee Meeting of 2025" at the Chungmu Facility of City Hall, attended by officials from local disaster management responsible organizations.

The Gwangju City Safety Management Committee is the highest decision-making body that deliberates and coordinates matters related to local disasters and safety management. The committee includes 30 organizations, such as Gwangju City, Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education, and the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of Korea Gas Safety Corporation.

The meeting was convened to discuss strategies for realizing "Safe City Gwangju 2025," as well as preventive and response measures for natural disasters such as summer heat waves and storm and flood damage. Attendees included Bae Bokhwan, Director General of Citizen Safety of Gwangju City; Kim Daesik, Head of the Gwangju Regional Headquarters of Korea Gas Safety Corporation; Yoo Byungyong, Head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corporation; Kim Jingang, CEO of Gwangju Tourism Organization; Kim Byungsoo, CEO of Gwangju Environment Corporation; and representatives from 23 local disaster management responsible organizations.

In anticipation of a significant increase in visitors to Gwangju during the "2025 Visit Gwangju Year," the participants reviewed the cooperation system among disaster management responsible organizations and discussed effective joint response measures.

The city and local disaster management responsible organizations devised measures to promote a safety culture, such as conducting everyday safety campaigns. These organizations agreed to carry out the "One Department, One Sign/Slogan" and "One Organization, One Rule" campaigns.

The "One Department, One Sign/Slogan" campaign is based on the message "Safety starts with my small actions." Each organization will develop and promote its own safety rules. Safety signs and slogans such as "Watch Your Step" and "Caution: Stairs" will be posted in places where safety is required in daily life. Additionally, safety signs and slogans to prevent the three major on-site accident risks?falls, entrapment, and collisions?will be displayed at worksites.

The "One Organization, One Rule" campaign involves creating and promoting messages for everyday safety campaigns, such as "When you slow down, you see people," so that the general public can easily understand and act on them.

In response to the increasing frequency of new and complex disasters due to the worsening climate crisis, the organizations agreed to strengthen their cooperation system, enhance disaster response training, and provide scenario-based education.

"New and complex disasters" refer to disasters that have not previously occurred, ultra-high-intensity disasters, complex disasters caused by the interaction of multiple factors, and secondary disasters that follow an initial incident.

A recent example of a complex disaster is the large-scale wildfire in North Gyeongsang Province. What began as a simple wildfire rapidly escalated due to dry weather and strong winds, resulting in numerous casualties, property damage, loss of cultural heritage and tourism resources, and paralysis of social infrastructure.

Accordingly, the Gwangju City Safety Management Committee decided to implement the following measures to prevent complex disasters: blocking human-induced factors and removing risk elements; establishing early detection and rapid response systems; strengthening integrated management systems; and building initial response and safety management foundations.

Based on last summer's experience in responding to record-breaking heat waves, the city also plans to establish a meticulous, field-oriented safety network to prevent natural disasters such as storms, floods, and heat waves during the summer. Specifically, for storm and flood prevention, the city will establish and operate a proactive situation management system; strengthen management of areas at risk of casualties; expand and improve flood prevention facilities; and build a public-private cooperative evacuation system and conduct resident-participation drills.

For heat wave prevention and response, the city will establish and operate a proactive situation management system; provide focused management for groups vulnerable to heat waves (physically, socially, occupationally, and economically); build infrastructure to reduce heat wave risks in daily life; and carry out public awareness campaigns to enhance citizen understanding and encourage practical action.

In terms of organization-specific responses, the Metropolitan Office of Education will strengthen activities to prevent summer safety accidents in schools through education and training, conduct thorough pre-inspections of school facilities, and rigorously manage emergency situations caused by natural disasters to ensure safety.

Gwangju Transportation Corporation will establish a response system for storm and flood disaster safety accidents. The Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Headquarters of Korea Land and Housing Corporation will provide on-site safety management support for small-scale construction sites. The Gwangju-Jeonnam Chapter of the Korean Red Cross will build a disaster response system and carry out relief activities.

Bae Bokhwan, Director General of Citizen Safety, stated, "All disaster management responsible organizations, including Gwangju City, and citizens must work together to make Gwangju a safe city." He added, "Please join forces to protect the lives and property of not only citizens but also tourists visiting Gwangju by making thorough preparations, including preemptive safety inspections."