Minister of the Interior and Safety Now Authorized to Dismiss Heads of Local Public Institutions Responsible for Major Accidents

Revision of the "Safety and Health Management Guidelines for Local Public Institutions"
Dismissal of Institution Heads Responsible for Major Accidents

From now on, the Minister of the Interior and Safety will be able to dismiss the heads of local public institutions who are responsible for major accidents. As part of efforts to strengthen accountability for safety management in local public institutions, each institution will also be required to publicly disclose its investment performance in safety equipment.

On January 11, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it will fully implement the "Strengthening Safety Management Measures for Local Public Institutions" to prevent major accidents in local public institutions.

The government is implementing the "Strengthening Safety Management Measures for Local Public Institutions" to prevent major accidents in local public institutions.

This initiative is part of the public sector safety management reinforcement measures, following President Lee Jaemyung's remarks at the 46th Cabinet meeting last year, where he pointed out that "even fatal falls occurring in public procurement projects are a serious issue."

To begin with, the government has revised the "Safety and Health Management Guidelines for Local Public Institutions" to support safety management in these organizations. The revision aims to strengthen the accountability of local public institutions for industrial accidents and clarify a prevention-oriented safety management system. Accordingly, investments in safety-such as replacing outdated facilities and equipment and introducing IoT-based new technology safety devices-will be reflected in each institution's "Safety and Health Plan." Each institution's investment performance will be reviewed and publicly disclosed on a quarterly basis to reinforce accountability.

Additionally, regulations for selecting qualified contractors during outsourcing, service, and consignment contracts have been specified so that the obligation under Article 61 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act to select qualified contractors is effectively implemented in practice. In accordance with Article 36 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the participation of workplace employees in risk assessments is explicitly required, and the results of these assessments and subsequent actions must be shared with the employees.

In particular, amendments have been made to the "Local Public Enterprises Act" and the "Act on the Management of Local Government-Invested and Contributed Institutions" to further strengthen accountability for safety management in local public institutions. As a result, a legal basis has been established for the Minister of the Interior and Safety to request the dismissal of the head of an institution who is responsible for a major accident due to a violation of safety management principles.

The responsibility of local public enterprises for safety management regarding industrial accidents will also be established through management evaluations. The score allocated for safety-related evaluations will be increased (from 8 to 9 points), and in principle, institutions where major accidents occur repeatedly will be given the lowest grade. In addition, a "Safety Activity Level Assessment" will be introduced for local public corporations and foundations to strengthen evaluations related to industrial accident prevention.

Han Soonki, Director General for Local Finance and Economy, stated, "We must establish a prevention-oriented safety culture that is directly linked to public safety, starting with the public sector," adding, "We will continue to support and monitor local public institutions so they can build autonomous and responsible safety management systems."