18 Public Institutions with Inadequate Safety Management Fully Implement Improvement Tasks

Deputy Minister Ando Geol Presides Over 'Joint Ministry Safety Inspection Meeting'

Ando-geol, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 30th that all 18 public institutions that received 'insufficient' or 'very insufficient' ratings in the public institution safety management grading system, implemented for the first time this year, have completed all improvement tasks.

On the same day, the Ministry held a joint safety inspection meeting at the Government Sejong Complex, chaired by Second Vice Minister Ando Geol, and finalized and announced the follow-up inspection and evaluation results of public institutions with poor safety management.

Thirteen institutions including the Korea National Railway Corporation, Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation, Korea Coal Corporation, Korea Fisheries Resources Agency, Korail Distribution, Korea Construction Machinery Safety Management Institute, Ship & Offshore Plant Research Institute, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Ceramic Technology Institute, Energy Technology Institute, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Korea Railroad Research Institute, and Korea Aerospace Research Institute have all implemented the 559 improvement tasks recommended by the private expert review panel.

The Railway Corporation supplemented standardized detailed drawings for installing fall prevention nets at railway bridge construction sites, and the Coal Corporation introduced a worker work-stop request system during tunnel operations. The Fisheries Resources Agency established a control system utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

The remaining five institutions?Korea Midland Power, Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, Korea Communications Agency, and Korea University of Technology and Education?had already completed their improvement tasks by the mid-term inspection and evaluation on the 16th.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance plans to regularly inspect whether the institutions are properly implementing the improvement tasks at work sites through the safety field inspection team of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

Whether the improvements have been implemented will be reflected in next year's safety management grading evaluation. Starting next year, the heads of 98 public institutions subject to the safety management grading evaluation will be required to complete the newly established 'Safety Responsibility Management Leadership Professional Training Course' at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency.

Vice Minister Ando said, "The biggest driving force that enabled institutions with poor safety management to implement necessary improvement tasks in a short period was the proactive improvement will of the institution heads," adding, "Institutions must establish an enterprise-wide safety management system to ensure safety activities are carried out even at the frontline work sites."

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