Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Conduct '2021 National Safety Inspection' by November... Focus on 23,000 Aging and High-Risk Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 19th that starting from the 23rd, beginning with Gangwon-do and Jeollabuk-do, the '2021 National Safety Inspection' will be conducted over an average period of 32 days until November, involving 28 central administrative agencies and 17 metropolitan cities and provinces.

This year's National Safety Inspection will select about 23,000 sites, focusing on recently accident-prone and aging/high-risk facilities such as dismantling construction sites, logistics warehouses, and landslide-prone areas, as well as sectors with high public interest and inspection needs, based on the autonomy and responsibility of local governments and related ministries, and conduct joint inspections.

Since its inception in 2015, the National Safety Inspection has been conducted to check the safety management status of our society and identify and improve risk factors through the joint participation of the government, local governments, and the public.

Problems such as excessive inspection targets, lack of expertise, and insufficient post-management systems that have been raised so far will be improved to enable effective inspections through selection and concentration.

The 2021 National Safety Inspection has established a promotion system through the dispersion of inspection periods by agency, clarification of roles among participating institutions, and communication and cooperation with the public and experts.

Each ministry and metropolitan city/province will autonomously establish and implement inspection plans during the period from August to November, considering the COVID-19 quarantine situation, characteristics of inspection target facilities, and regional conditions. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will establish a basic plan through consultation with related agencies and experts, and each ministry will establish an execution plan by sector. Local governments will establish and promote inspection plans tailored to regional characteristics reflecting the Ministry’s basic plan and the ministries’ execution plans. Additionally, a 'Public-Private Joint Inspection Task Force (TF)' will be formed to collect broad advice and opinions from the public and experts throughout the entire inspection process.

The effectiveness of the National Safety Inspection has also been strengthened. This inspection target was selected comprehensively based on autonomy and responsibility by agency, recent accident occurrence fields, accident statistics and big data analysis, and opinions from experts and residents. Joint inspections involving private experts will be conducted in cooperation with expert associations and organizations in fields such as facilities, electricity, gas, and firefighting. Advanced equipment such as drones will be utilized, and sector-specific inspection guides will be distributed to promote thorough inspections.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to focus its capabilities on spreading and establishing a safety culture through nationwide voluntary safety inspection campaigns and strategic publicity alongside the National Safety Inspection. To expand voluntary safety inspections for homes and multi-use facilities, the safety report function will be improved to distribute voluntary safety checklists and manage inspection histories. Public participation will be encouraged through nationwide publicity at each stage of the National Safety Inspection, including planning, execution, and feedback.

Post-management of the National Safety Inspection will be strengthened, and directions for development will be sought through sharing and spreading achievements with the public. Facilities requiring improvement based on inspection results will be promptly repaired and reinforced, and continuous management will be ensured through periodic checks. After the National Safety Inspection concludes, a national public reporting conference involving related ministries, local governments, public institutions, and safety-related associations and organizations will be held to share and spread outstanding achievements. Expert forums will also be held to explore ways to improve and develop the inspection process.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, “We finalized the 2021 National Safety Inspection plan through close cooperation between central administrative agencies and local governments to minimize the burden on local governments working on the front lines of COVID-19 quarantine since last year while ensuring a substantive National Safety Inspection,” adding, "Considering the COVID-19 situation, we will ensure compliance with quarantine rules during the inspection and evaluation processes and simultaneously conduct education and publicity for related personnel.”

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