Korea Institute of Design Promotion: "Respond to the Serious Accident Punishment Act in Aging Industrial Complexes with Design"

Interview with Yoon Sangheum, President of Korea Institute of Design Promotion
Full-scale Launch of This Year's 'Safety Service Design Project'
Additional Establishment of Manufacturing Innovation Center and Discovery of Promising Designers

Yoon Sang-heum, President of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, stated in an interview with Asia Economy, "We will actively promote the 'Safety Service Design Project' for small and medium-sized enterprises within industrial complexes responding to the Serious Accident Punishment Act." / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

"Accidents can be prevented just by changing the factory design and workflow. Drawing crosswalks in areas where people and work vehicles operate inside the factory or properly installing safety facilities will significantly reduce safety accidents."

It has been just over a month since the enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. We found clues to preventing industrial accidents in places that had not received much attention. On the 24th of last month, we met with Director Yoon Sang-heum (57, photo) at the Korea Institute of Design Promotion building in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Director Yoon said, "Starting this year, we will actively promote safety service design projects for small and medium-sized enterprises within industrial complexes to support compliance with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act." He repeatedly emphasized, "Even small changes in design, such as crosswalks for forklift roads, visual warning signs, anti-slip flooring, and safe work platforms, can reduce safety accidents."

Last November, they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation and collaborated to prevent safety accidents caused by the aging of industrial complex facilities, which are over 30 years old, and inefficient work environments. There were obstacles such as limited budgets and the need to change the mindset of small business owners. However, Director Yoon is confident that this project will have a significant effect in preventing serious accidents at workplaces.

Yoon Sang-heum, President of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 24th. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Director Yoon explained, "From a design perspective, we diagnose safety facilities and spaces at workplaces and provide design solutions with necessary suggestions. Facility installation must be done by the companies themselves, but many small business owners still hesitate." He added, "It is really necessary to change the mindset of business owners." Since productivity improvements or accident prevention effects do not appear immediately, it is not easy to get them to open their wallets. It will take more time and effort to accumulate statistics and demonstrate effectiveness. Nevertheless, Director Yoon plans to gradually expand cooperation with institutions, such as partnering with Korea Southern Power Company in the first half of this year to develop industrial safety designs for thermal power plants. If necessary, he intends to continue making on-site visits.

Director Yoon is a trade and commerce expert who served as Director-General of the Trade Cooperation Bureau and Director of the Trade Investigation Office at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and is a thorough field-oriented person. Since his appointment at the end of June last year, he has visited over 50 places including design specialized companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, and design organizations. He said, "While in public office, I realized that policies must come from the field, not from the desk."

Therefore, this year he plans to continue establishing the ‘Design-Driven Manufacturing Innovation Centers’ to enhance the product competitiveness of manufacturing companies within industrial complexes. Currently, there are five manufacturing innovation centers located in Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, and other regions. Two more centers will be added in the provinces this year. The budget for manufacturing innovation centers this year has been confirmed at 11.2 billion won, an increase of 3.2 billion won from last year.

Yoon Sang-heum, President of Korea Institute of Design Promotion / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Success stories from manufacturing innovation are emerging one after another. ‘Million,’ a small business that manufactures and sells pet carriers, achieved annual sales of 2 billion won last year by improving product design with the help of the manufacturing innovation center. This represents a 156% growth in one year. They succeeded in improving their image with a premium strategy by changing materials to reduce weight and raw material costs. There is also data showing that companies assisted by the manufacturing innovation center last year reduced the time required for product development by an average of about two and a half months.

As digital transformation and the adoption of new technologies become more active, the importance of design that promotes convergence between different industries is increasing. However, the average sales of about 10,000 design specialized companies in Korea remain stagnant at around 600 million won. Overseas expansion has also been restrained due to the impact of COVID-19.

Director Yoon said, "We will provide design specialized companies without manufacturing bases with environments and service capabilities to produce their own products and support the creation of their own product business models." He added, "We will discover promising designers with potential and promote nurturing programs for them to grow into global designers." The Korea Institute of Design Promotion plans to support design company guarantees based on special contributions and hold joint demo days with the Korea Venture Capital Association to expand investment in the design industry.

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