What Safety Policies Are Changing in Gyeongbuk This Year?

Up to 20 Million KRW Compensation for All Residents

Automatic Enrollment Safety Insurance by City and County

355.7 Billion KRW Invested in Natural Disaster Prevention

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] What are the new safety policies changing in Gyeongbuk Province starting this year?

Gyeongbuk Province selected and introduced four safety policies closely related to residents' lives among the safety policies being promoted in 2023.

First, safety insurance coverage will be expanded to all residents.

Resident Safety Insurance is an insurance jointly implemented by the province and city/county to provide safety insurance benefits to residents who suffer damage from various disasters and accidents that may occur in daily life.

It is a free insurance that benefits not only residents registered in Gyeongsangbuk-do but also foreigners registered and residing in the region without separate subscription procedures.

Although the types of coverage and compensation limits vary by city/county, generally, up to 20 million KRW in insurance benefits can be received for △death from natural disasters △death or permanent disability from explosion, fire, or collapse △death or permanent disability from injury while using public transportation △drowning death △death or permanent disability from agricultural machinery injury △injury treatment costs from school zone traffic accidents.

Safety insurance can be found by searching ‘Citizen Safety Insurance’ on search portals. Various information such as coverage items by region, insurance companies (mutual aid associations), city/county departments and websites, compensation cases, and frequently asked questions can be checked.

Second, a policy to strengthen safety management of aging and hazardous facilities based on digital technology.

For aging and hazardous facilities, safety management systems will be established on bridges and others using IoT (Internet of Things) technology.

IoT sensors will be installed in about 84 aging and hazardous facilities in the province, including bridges, landslide-prone areas, and multi-use buildings, to continuously monitor cracks, tilting, and more.

The data obtained from monitoring is transmitted to a platform server and then delivered to the management entity through a computer system. The management entity uses the received information to systematically and efficiently manage safety by removing risk factors and responding immediately in case of risk situations.

This project was selected through a public contest by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, securing 650 million KRW in national funds and investing 650 million KRW in local funds for implementation.

By establishing a safety management system using digital technology, it is expected to contribute to residents' safety by preventing safety accidents in advance through early detection of risk factors in aging and hazardous facilities, timely repair and reinforcement, extending facility lifespan, and ensuring safety.

Third, an investment of 355.7 billion KRW in natural disaster prevention projects and maintenance of 427 districts within the province.

To fundamentally eliminate risk factors of natural disasters and prepare for natural disasters such as typhoons and floods, 355.7 billion KRW (114.1 billion KRW national funds, 241.6 billion KRW local funds), an increase of about 14.5% (45.1 billion KRW) compared to last year, will be invested in disaster prevention projects.

Among major projects, ongoing projects cover 212 districts with 348.9 billion KRW, including △maintenance of disaster risk improvement districts 74 districts 116.2 billion KRW △comprehensive maintenance of flood and typhoon living zones 12 districts 47.1 billion KRW △maintenance of steep slope collapse risk districts 20 districts 31.2 billion KRW △maintenance of disaster risk reservoirs 17 districts 11.4 billion KRW △installation of rainwater retention facilities 2 districts 23 billion KRW, etc.

New projects cover 215 districts with 6.8 billion KRW, including △installation of smart measurement management systems at 58 locations 4 billion KRW △maintenance of sediment in small rivers at 127 locations 2 billion KRW △installation of vehicle blocking facilities on flood-prone vulnerable roads at 2 locations 300 million KRW △construction of Gyeongbuk integrated seismic acceleration measurement management system in 23 cities/counties 200 million KRW, etc.

Gyeongbuk Province will remove risk factors in areas where human damage is expected through ongoing projects such as disaster risk districts, steep slopes, and aging reservoirs, and promote new projects such as installing smart measuring devices and dredging sediment in small rivers.

Fourth, a policy to support seismic performance evaluation and certification fees for private buildings.

Since 2019, Gyeongbuk Province has been supporting the costs of seismic performance evaluation and certification fees to ensure earthquake safety of private buildings.

This year, with increased demand, it secured the largest national funds among metropolitan local governments nationwide and plans to invest 680 million KRW to promote the project.

The project targets private buildings without confirmed seismic performance that wish to undergo seismic performance evaluation and certification. Applications can be made to the disaster management department of the city/county where the building is located.

A demand survey for the next year's project is conducted every April, and seismic performance evaluation is supported up to 30 million KRW, and certification fees up to 10 million KRW at 100% coverage.

This is uniquely promoted without self-payment only in Gyeongbuk Province and Incheon Metropolitan City among the 17 provinces and metropolitan cities nationwide.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to focus on securing seismic performance of facilities in the province not only through the earthquake safety facility certification project but also through private building seismic reinforcement cost support projects and public facility seismic reinforcement support projects.

Kim Byung-sam, Director of the Disaster Safety Office of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “In the era of local autonomy, residents' safety must be the top priority,” and added, “This year, we will inspect sites more thoroughly to minimize disaster occurrence and damage as much as possible.”

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

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