Sangmin Lee, Business Trip to the U.S.... "Field Visit to Disaster Management Policy"

Benchmarking Disaster Safety Systems and Strengthening Mutual Cooperation

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min announced that he will embark on a four-day business trip to the United States from the 31st to the 3rd of next month to directly inspect disaster prevention, response, and recovery sites in California and to strengthen mutual cooperation for proactive response to new disaster risks.

Prior to this, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced the ‘Comprehensive Plan for the Overhaul of the National Safety System across the Government’ on January 27, focusing on establishing a field-centered disaster safety management system and enhancing disaster prediction using information and communication technology (ICT).

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

First, starting from the 31st, the minister will visit specialized disaster management agencies to analyze effective disaster site command systems at the local government level in the United States. Next, to analyze command and control systems at the state government level, visits will be made to the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal FIRE).

Finally, discussions will be held at the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Communications Dispatch Center (similar to Korea’s 112 comprehensive police situation room) responsible for public safety in downtown Los Angeles, regarding emergency call (911) response, on-site dispatch systems, and crowd accident prevention and response measures.

Minister Lee Sang-min stated, “Taking this trip as an opportunity, we will closely analyze the U.S. disaster safety management system, actively benchmark applicable parts for Korea, and further expand exchanges and cooperation between Korea and the U.S.” He also added, “We will continue efforts to establish an international cooperation system in disaster safety management fields such as climate change response to enhance the effectiveness of the comprehensive plan for overhauling the national safety system.”

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