Lim Hae-jong, President of Gas Safety Corporation, "Reducing Gas Accidents Is Our Greatest Achievement"

1st Anniversary Inauguration Interview

55 Accidents Reported by the End of August This Year
11% Decrease Compared to the Same Period Last Year

Establishment of Smart Inspection System
Improvement of Aging LPG Facilities

Focusing on Safety Assurance and Industry Promotion
in Line with the Hydrogen Economy Policy

Lim Hae-jong, President of Korea Gas Safety Corporation.

[Eumseong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] "Since my inauguration in September last year, we have steadily advanced the sophistication of gas safety management, including the establishment of a smart inspection system to reduce gas accidents. Moving forward, we plan to continue to steadily reduce gas accidents, which is the core task of the corporation, and actively support the government's hydrogen economy activation policy as the dedicated hydrogen safety agency."

Marking his first year in office, Lim Hae-jong, President of the Korea Gas Safety Corporation, cited the reduction of gas-related accidents as his greatest achievement in a recent interview with Asia Economy at the corporation’s headquarters in Eumseong, Chungbuk. According to the Korea Gas Safety Corporation, gas-related accidents such as fires caused by explosions and poisoning totaled 55 cases through the end of August this year, representing an 11% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Gas accidents occur due to explosions caused by leaks of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), butane gas, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Gas accidents are dangerous because a momentary lapse in caution can take not only property but also human lives. For example, an LPG explosion at a pension in Donghae in January last year and a carbon monoxide poisoning incident at a pension in Gangneung in 2018 resulted in casualties.

President Lim explained, "Gas accidents mainly occur due to aging facilities and user negligence, and the improvement of LPG facilities, which account for a high proportion of accidents, was effective in reducing accidents."

To reduce LPG-related accidents, the Korea Gas Safety Corporation conducted a facility improvement project for low-income households by replacing aging rubber hoses with metal piping in approximately 750,000 households over the past 10 years until last year. Through this project, gas accidents in homes using LPG decreased by 54.2% compared to before the project was implemented.

From this year until 2030, the Korea Gas Safety Corporation plans to carry out LPG facility improvement projects for 410,000 households and distribute 125,000 ‘timer cocks,’ safety devices that automatically cut off gas after a set time, to underprivileged groups this year. President Lim said, "We are also considering adding alarm, automatic shut-off, and remote monitoring functions to gas meters not only for measurement but also for accident prevention."

President Lim also simplified the gas safety facility inspection tasks. At the end of July, the smart inspection system ‘KGS Smart On’ was fully implemented. Previously, a large amount of paperwork was required to check the inspection history and facility standards of the relevant business, but with the new inspection system, inspectors can identify facility information on-site using portable terminals and send inspection certificates, handling the tasks all at once. President Lim self-assessed, "Through KGS Smart On, the efficiency of inspectors’ work has improved, and the quality of customer service has also been enhanced."

Regarding future work plans, President Lim stated that he would focus on securing hydrogen safety and fostering related industries in line with the government’s hydrogen economy policy pace. The Korea Gas Safety Corporation has already begun a project this year to provide free rental of hydrogen station inspection equipment worth about 8 million KRW. Additionally, it is temporarily supporting 50% of the hydrogen quality inspection fees (approximately 2.11 million KRW annually per station) for hydrogen stations until next year.

President Lim said, "In preparation for the mandatory inspection of hydrogen products starting in February next year, we are pushing for the establishment of hydrogen product safety standards within this year, and we are also preparing safety evaluations and precision safety systems to ensure the safety of hydrogen stations. To achieve the hydrogen economy early, creating a safety ecosystem must come first, so we will continuously consider ‘how to reduce safety concerns while supporting the hydrogen economy.’"

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