Ministry of the Interior and Safety "Investing 96 Trillion Won in Disaster Safety Budgets Including Infectious Diseases and Climate Change Over 5 Years"

National Police Agency and Fire Agency Joint Announcement of 2020 Work Plan
'Safe Republic of Korea' Goal
Enhancing Regional Vitality, Trusted Government, Institutionalizing Police Reform
Introduction of Metropolitan Autonomous Police System, Allowing Police University Transfer Admission

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will invest approximately 100 trillion won over the next five years to enhance disaster safety against infectious diseases, climate change, and other hazards.

On the 2nd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced this year's work plan containing these details in a joint press conference with the National Police Agency and the National Fire Agency at the Government Seoul Office. Under the goal of a vibrant "Safe Korea" through decentralization and innovation, the ministry stated it will focus on promoting a safe society, revitalizing local communities, digital government innovation, and institutionalizing police reform.

The ministry plans to increase the disaster safety budget from 17.5 trillion won this year to about 21 trillion won in 2024. Over five years, a total of 96 trillion won will be spent on public safety. Key investments will be made in improving local traffic safety environments, such as expanding unmanned traffic enforcement equipment and traffic signals in school zones, as well as disaster prevention projects for reservoirs and steep slopes.

Regarding the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the ministry plans to thoroughly analyze the response process to enhance prevention and response capabilities for new and complex disasters. To improve response systems by disaster type and stage, the joint deputy chief system of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will be legislated. Under this system, the Prime Minister serves as the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, while the deputy chiefs are the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the minister of the relevant supervising ministry.

Fire and rescue services will be provided uniformly across regions centered on national firefighters, and disaster management personnel such as infectious disease response staff and disaster safety officers will be reinforced. Additionally, support for temporary living facilities will be strengthened, and systematic disaster psychological recovery support will help victims return to daily life. To minimize the negative impact of COVID-19 on local economies, 137 trillion won in local finances will be executed by the first half of this year, while local governments' contingency funds and disaster management funds will be actively utilized to overcome the crisis.

To spread a culture of safety in daily life, unannounced inspections will gradually expand, and sanctions will be strengthened for violations of safety obligations directly related to life and safety. Safety information such as inspection results for facilities closely related to daily life, including schools and sports facilities, will be disclosed online.

◆Revitalizing Local Communities through Decentralization and Innovation=Furthermore, the ministry will continue to expand resident autonomy councils nationwide, support youth employment and entrepreneurship through region-led youth job projects, and foster and support village enterprises that create jobs and solve local problems by utilizing local resources with residents and communities. To support practical decentralization and fiscal decentralization, active promotion of the enactment and revision of related laws such as the Local Autonomy Act is planned.

Through digital government innovation, citizens will be able to receive information on subsidies at once and apply for lifecycle services such as pregnancy and care support in a one-stop service. Electronic certificate services that allow issuance and storage of resident registration certificates on smartphones without separate visits will be expanded. Under the principle of full public data openness, a public sector MyData portal will be established to allow individuals to download and utilize their own information. Additionally, to expand government organizational autonomy, the scope of prior consultation by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will be reduced to enhance the organizational management authority of agency heads and department heads, and emergency response teams and venture-type organizations will be activated in urgent situations.

◆Institutionalization of the Autonomous Police System=The ministry aims to complete police reform by strengthening democratic control over police authority and reforming police investigations. To increase accountability in investigations, rights of the investigated such as memo rights and introduction of statement recording systems will be guaranteed, and the right to legal counsel will be strengthened. Warrant examiners and investigation supervisors, who serve as monitors of investigations, will be introduced. Follow-up measures such as the enactment of investigation guidelines (Presidential Decree) will be completed to settle the new investigation structure following investigation rights reform.

To decentralize police authority, a metropolitan-level autonomous police system will be introduced, and a National Investigation Headquarters will be established. Autonomous police will be separated from the national police and provide policing services closely related to residents' lives. The head of the National Investigation Headquarters will be appointed as an open position and will conduct national police investigation affairs neutrally and independently. The Police Commission will be revitalized to strengthen democratic control over the National Police Agency, and monitoring by the National Human Rights Commission and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission will be expanded. Intelligence police activities will have their grounds and scope clearly defined, and the Police University will introduce transfer admission systems and abolish privileges such as military service exemptions.

Minister Jin Young said, "We will do our best to quickly alleviate the public's anxiety and economic difficulties caused by COVID-19," adding, "Fundamentally, we will continuously innovate with the government and local governments to prevent disasters and accidents and to restore local vitality."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.