Kim Sang-beom Appointed President of Seoul Metro... "Ensuring Top-Level Safety"

Kim Sang-beom Inaugurated as 2nd President of Seoul Metro on the 1st... Skipping Inauguration Ceremony, Starts First Day with On-site Visits to Vehicle Bases, COVID-19 Prevention Checks, and Staff Encouragement

Kim Sang-beom, the newly appointed president (second from the right), is inspecting the facility status at Gunja Vehicle Base.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Sang-beom, the new president of Seoul Metro, who took office as the new head of Seoul Metro, began his first duties on the 1st at Gunja Vehicle Depot, stating, “Although difficult times continue due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, Seoul Subway will ensure the highest level of safety without losing the trust of citizens under any circumstances.”

Considering the emergency management system currently in operation in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), President Kim Sang-beom skipped a separate inauguration ceremony and headed directly to the field. He first visited Gunja Vehicle Depot to participate in train disinfection activities and toured the main factory to assess the current work status.

President Kim Sang-beom received his appointment certificate from Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon around 9 a.m. on the 1st.

He then moved to Sindap Annex, where the crew office, technical center, and cleaning service subsidiary offices are located, and to Gunja Station to encourage employees and listen to their opinions on difficulties caused by disinfection and sterilization. At this meeting, President Kim said, “From now on, I will openly listen to the stories of all employees and strive to create a vibrant working environment and a rewarding workplace together.”

President Kim Sang-beom also visited the offices of the two major labor unions of Seoul Metro (Seoul Metro Labor Union and Seoul Metro Integrated Labor Union) to meet with union executives. He expressed his intention toward a win-win labor-management relationship by stating, “I will work to establish a labor-management relationship based on communication and cooperation with the labor unions, which are one pillar of the company’s management.”

After about six hours of on-site inspection, President Kim returned to the headquarters, toured the 2nd Control Center, and received a briefing on the emergency response situation related to COVID-19 at the Smart Safety Integrated Situation Room. President Kim urged, “Please do your best to prevent any cluster infections during subway use through thorough and flawless disinfection, thinking as if my own family is riding the subway.”

The Smart Safety Integrated Situation Room serves as a disaster response control tower in emergencies and is equipped with a unified command system that communicates in real time with the comprehensive control center via video conferencing. During normal times, it can monitor all subway stations and train operation information on lines 1 through 8.

The schedule continued late into the night. That day was also the first day when extended train operations after midnight were suspended. Around 11:30 p.m., before the end of train operations, President Kim visited Jongno 3-ga Station to carefully check the site for any inconveniences or issues with guidance for citizens.

President Kim said, “This adjustment of train operation hours was made to support strong social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and early return home, as well as to secure additional time for sustainable disinfection. Along with improved disinfection quality, the increased work time for facility maintenance and aging facility upgrades is expected to enhance overall safety.”

President Kim Sang-beom (left) is greeting Kim Cheol-gwan, Chairman of the Seoul Metro Integrated Labor Union.

Meanwhile, although there was no inauguration ceremony, the inauguration greeting was delivered through the company broadcast. President Kim Sang-beom expressed his inauguration thoughts, saying, “Based on over 30 years of public service experience for city administration development, I will do my best to fulfill the unchanging mission of providing safe and convenient transportation services.”

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