"Legislating Safety Management as an Operating Principle for Public Institutions... Increased Weight on Safety in Management Evaluations"

Heads of Institutions to Be Held Accountable for Serious Accidents
"Plan to Strengthen Management Disclosures Related to Safety Incidents"
Incentives for Safety Personnel at Public Institutions to Be Encouraged

Following a series of safety accidents at public institutions, including Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), the government has decided to legislate safety management as a fundamental operating principle for public institutions. The weight of safety management in public institution management evaluations will be significantly increased, and the safety management rating system will be restructured to focus on safety performance. The overall measures will be included in the "Plan to Strengthen Safety Management in Public Institutions," which is scheduled to be announced on September 1.

Koo Yoonchul, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, is giving opening remarks while presiding over the "Emergency Meeting of Public Institutions Related to Industrial Safety" held on the 22nd at the Post Tower of Seoul Central Post Office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Ministry of Strategy and Finance

On the morning of the 22nd, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance Koo Yoonchul held an emergency meeting of public institutions related to industrial safety at the Post Tower of Seoul Central Post Office. This meeting was convened in response to growing concerns over public institution safety management, following an accident earlier this month near Cheongdo Station in North Gyeongsang Province where seven workers were struck by a KORAIL Mugunghwa train, as well as recent incidents at a Korea Expressway Corporation construction site and at Taean Thermal Power Plant.

Deputy Prime Minister Koo met with the heads of 40 major public institutions (designated as safety management-focused institutions), including KORAIL, Korea Expressway Corporation, Korea Gas Corporation, and Korea Land and Housing Corporation, to review their safety management systems and discuss improvement measures. Safety management-focused institutions are designated under the "Guidelines for Safety Management of Public Institutions" and include a total of 65 organizations that operate high-risk workplaces and construction sites where serious accidents are likely to occur.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Koo emphasized, "The government and public institutions must feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the tragic accidents that have occurred at public institution worksites, and must make a firm commitment to ensure such incidents are not repeated." He also called for public institutions to "drastically improve their own safety management systems under the responsibility of their heads," and warned, "We will respond strictly and decisively to institutions where serious accidents occur."

To eradicate and effectively prevent serious accidents, Deputy Prime Minister Koo announced for the first time, "We will legislate safety management as a fundamental operating principle for public institutions," adding, "We will hold the heads of institutions accountable for serious accidents and significantly increase the weight of safety management in management evaluations." He continued, "We will restructure the safety management rating system to focus on safety performance," and added, "We also plan to strengthen management disclosures related to safety accidents."

To support efforts by public institutions and companies to ensure safety, he explained, "We will institutionalize the principle of safety first in the public contract process and support companies' investments in safety." He further stated, "We will encourage public institutions to provide incentives for safety personnel and prepare preferential measures for investments in safety management."

Deputy Prime Minister Koo also said, "The government will significantly increase the budget for disaster prediction and prevention in next year's budget compared to this year, and will provide nationwide financial support for safety management."

During the open discussion, participating institutions shared opinions on the current state of safety management at public institutions and ways to strengthen it. Korea Expressway Corporation, KEPCO KPS, and KORAIL, which have recently experienced fatal accidents, explained the causes of the incidents and measures to prevent recurrence. Based on the discussions at today's meeting, the government plans to announce the plan to strengthen safety management in public institutions on September 1.