Jongno-gu Receives Prime Minister's Commendation for Safety Culture Award

Jongno-gu Receives Prime Minister's Commendation in Ministry of the Interior and Safety's "Safety Culture Awards" Contest... Considering Urban Characteristics... Inspects COVID-19 Response Plans for Underground-Connected Complex Buildings... Strives to Establish Public-Private Safety Cooperation Network through Life-Defense and Behavior Guidelines Education

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) prioritizes resident safety in administration and is striving to create a community where people can live with peace of mind in response to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of this effort, the district has closely inspected whether COVID-19 response plans have been established for complex buildings within the area to spread a culture of safety, laying the groundwork for the Jongno-gu Safety Culture Movement Council. This led to the remarkable achievement of receiving the Prime Minister’s Commendation in this year’s ‘2020 Safety Culture Awards’ competition.

The Safety Culture Awards, hosted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, is the highest honor in the safety field, selecting outstanding cases jointly promoted by public and private sectors.

Considering the characteristics of the downtown area with a large daytime population, Jongno-gu has built a public-private safety cooperation network by inspecting complex underground buildings and multi-use facilities for ‘establishment and implementation of COVID-19 self-response plans’ and ‘securing isolation spaces for suspected fever-monitoring patients,’ as well as educating on daily quarantine and behavioral guidelines.

Additionally, to expand the safety culture movement as a participatory practice, the district reorganized the ‘Jongno-gu Safety Culture Movement Promotion Council’ consisting of 28 members last July and established the ‘Regulations on the Formation and Operation of the Jongno-gu Safety Culture Movement Promotion Council’ as an official directive, thereby institutionalizing the activity base.

Moreover, considering that hundreds of large and small facility construction projects are carried out annually, Jongno-gu has been dedicated to preventing disaster risk factors that may occur on-site.

In particular, recognizing the necessity of an independent safety management system early on, the district became the first local government nationwide to acquire the ‘Occupational Health and Safety Management System (KOSHA 18001)’ in 2011.

By passing the extension audit for the fourth consecutive time, the operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System has been secured until the first half of 2022. Next year, the district plans to undergo a transition audit to the new Occupational Health and Safety Management System (KOSHA-MS), which complies with international standards (ISO 45001) and applies domestic conditions.

The Occupational Health and Safety Management System (KOSHA-18001) includes establishing, implementing, and evaluating safety and health execution plans that reflect top management’s commitment to safety and health, promote workers’ accident prevention activities, and prevent and manage risk factors that may occur at construction sites in advance.

To ensure the continuous operation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System, the district has maintained systematic activities based on a solid 10-year operational experience, including ▲specifying related compliance items in announcements from the pre-contract stage ▲providing safety education tailored to the scale and characteristics of construction sites before commencement ▲offering safety checklists and related booklets by type ▲conducting on-site inspections through internal audits in the first and second halves of the year ▲forming consultative meetings to devise disaster prevention measures and eliminate risk factors.

District Mayor Kim Young-jong expressed, “I am very pleased that our local safety response capabilities have been recognized through receiving the Prime Minister’s Commendation and acquiring the Occupational Health and Safety Management System certification.” He added, “We will not be complacent but will strengthen safety governance involving all community members and create a ‘safe and sustainable city Jongno’ through continuous safety management.”

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