[Photo] Seongjanghyeon, Yongsan District Mayor, Conducts Safety Inspection of Facilities Subject to Serious Accidents

[Seoul District Photo News] Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum Visits Dongdaemun-gu Health Center on the 9th for On-site Inspection of COVID-19 Testing System Transition... Yoo Dong-gyun, Mapo-gu Mayor, Holds Meeting with Sanitation Workers After Enforcement of Serious Accident Punishment Act

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District, is listening to an explanation from a person in charge at the construction site of the Veterans Hall (Bogwang-ro 60-gil 14-9) on the 9th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, conducted a safety inspection on the 9th at the construction site of the Veterans Hall (14-9 Bogwang-ro 60-gil) and the retaining wall in front of Itaewon Elementary School (Itaewon-dong 543 ~ 54-115).

This was to directly inspect the safety management status of the target facilities in accordance with the Enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act (effective January 27, 2022), and to urge on-site personnel to fulfill mandatory obligations under the Act, such as establishing a safety and health management system, to prevent disaster accidents.

The Veterans Hall is a building with one basement floor and four above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 1,109㎡, where construction workers are protected under the Serious Industrial Accident category. The construction began in March 2021 to integrate the separately operated veterans' organization offices into a single building and is scheduled for completion in May 2022.

The retaining wall in front of Itaewon Elementary School is a public-use facility subject to serious citizen accident regulations. It is 10 meters high and 274 meters long, and is managed through regular inspections once every six months and additional inspections during the rainy season and holidays to maintain safety.

Meanwhile, prior to the enforcement of the law, the district established a Serious Accident Prevention Team in January this year, which is responsible for overseeing, managing, and responding to the fulfillment of obligations related to industrial and citizen accidents.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, stated, “Even before the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, hazardous facilities were managed under individual laws. Nevertheless, the strengthened Serious Accidents Punishment Act was enacted. It is not about punishment, but about thinking that the people who could be involved in accidents are our family members. We must focus all efforts on preventing disaster accidents through meticulous on-site inspections and compliance with obligations.” He added, “I urge each department to thoroughly manage safety to prevent serious accidents at their respective workplaces.”

Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol) announced that on the morning of the 10th, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum visited the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center's screening clinic to inspect the transition of the COVID-19 testing system and encourage the staff.

At the event, Yoo Deok-yeol, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, and the director of the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center briefed on the current status and response plans related to the transition of the COVID-19 testing system in Dongdaemun-gu.

Mayor Yoo Deok-yeol said, “Our district is operating the screening clinics with utmost effort to ensure that residents do not experience inconvenience in line with the introduction of the new COVID-19 testing system. Due to the surge in testing demand, we will operate efficiently so that residents coming for tests can receive them promptly.”

“Since installing LED light bands on the back of safety helmets, I can feel that cars slow down during early morning hours,” said Oh Jin-hwan, a sanitation worker in Mapo-gu, reflecting on the safety measures taken by Mapo-gu following the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act.

Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) has been accelerating efforts to create a safe working environment for sanitation workers in line with the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act on January 27.

Due to the nature of sanitation workers starting work around 5 a.m. on roadsides, even wearing fluorescent work clothes, they often felt threatened by fast-moving vehicles.

To help identify sanitation workers in dark environments, the district provided detachable LED light bands for safety helmets to all 101 sanitation workers in Mapo-gu on the 4th. Additionally, LED tripods were distributed to be set up during cleaning work so that drivers can recognize road cleaning from a distance.

This idea came from the weekly Thursday discussion-style “Safety Inspection Meeting for Serious Accident Prevention.” Although a minor idea, on-site personnel say it greatly enhances psychological stability.

On the 9th, Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, visited the sanitation workers’ workplace and the cleaning administration department’s garage and collection site to listen to opinions related to safety and health.

This action fulfills the obligation stipulated in Article 4, Paragraph 7 of the Enforcement Decree of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which requires establishing procedures to hear workers’ opinions on safety and health matters at workplaces, and is a measure to prepare safety measures for industrial accident prevention.

Key opinions raised that day included requests to modify work clothes so that LED light bands can be attached and detached, and to use waterproof LED products suitable for the nature of the job, which requires working in rain and snow.

Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun responded, “We will continuously collect opinions from today and on-site to implement a safe working environment.” He also instructed related departments to devise all possible safety measures applicable to sanitation workers belonging to four companies contracted for household waste collection and transportation.

Additionally, Mapo-gu issued a “Public Statement on the Enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act” on January 27, the day the Act came into effect.

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