Busan City Conducts Special Safety Inspection Ahead of International Exhibition Bureau On-Site Evaluation

‘Urban Safety’ Competitiveness, Hosting the 2030 World Expo

February 20 to March 31 ... Intensive Safety Management Period

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City is leveraging 'urban safety' as a competitive advantage to gain an edge in the bid for the 2030 World Expo.

The city has designated the six weeks from February 20 to March 31 as an 'Intensive Safety Management Period' in preparation for the on-site inspection by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), during which it will conduct extensive special safety inspections.

This initiative assumes the BIE on-site inspection as an actual 2030 Busan World Expo event, aiming to strengthen the overall urban safety system so that visitors to Busan can enjoy their experience without inconvenience or concern.

First, the city selected four major types of accidents and disasters: daily safety, social disasters, natural disasters, and others. It designated ten vulnerable areas and facilities, including multi-use facilities, forests, aging buildings, construction sites, tunnels, and bridges, to conduct facility inspections alongside checks on equipment, personnel, and disaster response readiness.

Through this special inspection, minor issues discovered will be immediately corrected on-site, and matters requiring repair or reinforcement will receive emergency measures and be improved as swiftly as possible before the inspection.

To this end, on February 15, the city held a safety inspection meeting chaired by the Director of the Citizen Safety Office with departments and related agencies responsible for various disasters and facilities, urging thorough inspections under the responsibility of department heads. A progress review meeting chaired by the mayor will be held in March to manage inspection implementation.

Additionally, the city plans to enforce strict event safety management to ensure no casualties occur during the various events and festivals held locally before and after the inspection team’s visit. A total of 54 events and festivals are scheduled across Busan during this period.

To achieve this, the city has established a collaborative system with district offices, police, fire departments, and private experts to review safety management plans and their implementation. It will also utilize the Public Safety Long-Term Evolution (PS-LTE) disaster safety communication network to share real-time field information and enable rapid response in any situation.

For large-scale events with dense crowds, such as the fireworks festival, personnel and equipment for crowd control, including tall police officers and congestion management vehicles, will be generously deployed.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun emphasized the importance of this special safety inspection, stating, “Last year, despite unprecedentedly strong typhoons, the BTS concert attended by over 60,000 people worldwide, and the Busan Fireworks Festival with about 700,000 attendees, there were no casualties or accidents thanks to thorough prior preparations.”

He added, “With the BIE inspection team’s visit approaching during the thaw season when accident risks increase, I ask all agencies to meticulously inspect every place frequented by citizens to ensure there are no dangers or deficiencies. I will also personally visit sites to conduct inspections and carefully address any issues found promptly.”

The BIE on-site inspection team will stay in Busan and Seoul for six days from April 2 to 7 to evaluate Busan’s capabilities to host the 2030 World Expo and to gauge the public’s enthusiasm for the bid.

Special Safety Inspection Meeting chaired by the Director of the Citizen Safety Office. (Feb. 15, 2023)

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