Hwaseong Mayor Jung Myunggeun Calls for Expanded Local Government Authority for Industrial Safety

Hwaseong City and Ministry of Employment and Labor
Conduct Joint Inspection with Industrial Safety Keeper Program

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province announced on January 9 that it had jointly held the "Industrial Safety Keeper Joint Inspection and Meeting" with the Ministry of Employment and Labor, targeting small-scale manufacturing businesses.

On the 9th, participants including Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor (fifth from the left), and Jung Myunggeun, Mayor of Hwaseong (sixth from the left), pledged cooperation for industrial safety at the 'Hwaseong City Industrial Safety Keeper Joint Inspection and Meeting' jointly conducted by Hwaseong City and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Provided by Hwaseong City

This joint inspection was organized to address industrial accident blind spots in businesses with fewer than 50 employees and to review a prevention-focused industrial safety management system based on cooperation between the central government and local municipalities.

Participants in the inspection included Kim Younghoon, Minister of Employment and Labor, Jung Myunggeun, Mayor of Hwaseong, officials from the Gyeonggi Regional Office of the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and representatives from the Hwaseong Industry Promotion Agency. After sharing the operational status of the Industrial Safety Keeper program in the city hall situation room, they visited local manufacturing companies for on-site inspections.

Following the inspection, a meeting was held to discuss ways to strengthen collaboration and improve systems for industrial safety management at small-scale businesses.

Previously, the city reorganized its dedicated safety management teams, including the establishment of the Disaster Response Division and the Labor-Management Cooperation Division, to enhance safety management. In addition, systematic safety management systems are being operated through initiatives such as the Hwaseong Industrial Safety Keeper program and the creation of fire risk maps for factory areas. In particular, the Industrial Safety Keeper program inspects approximately 5,000 small-scale manufacturing businesses annually.

Starting this year, the city plans to increase the number of Industrial Safety Keeper personnel and, together with central government agencies and Gyeonggi Province, strengthen safety management standards at small-scale businesses through joint inspections and risk-based proactive management.

At the meeting, Mayor Jung stated, "Local governments serve as capillaries connecting industrial sites and policy," and suggested, "It is necessary to grant local government heads substantive authority over safety management."