The Role of Public Procurers in Disaster and Industrial Safety … Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency Hold Joint Forum

‘Need to Establish Safety and Health Management System Focused on Prevention Rather Than Post-Recovery and Compensation’

Experts from Academia, Public Institutions, and Government Discuss Safety Management Measures

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (Chairman An Jong-joo) held a forum on "The Role and Responsibility of Public Clients in Disaster and Industrial Safety" on the 14th at the 2nd Exhibition Hall of KINTEX in Ilsan, jointly with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, to discuss efficient safety management measures in celebration of the "9th Korea Safety Industry Expo 2023."

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency held a forum on the role of public contractors in disaster and industrial safety.

The forum was organized to raise awareness of safety and health management by public clients amid a social atmosphere where the role of safety and health in the public sector is increasingly emphasized. This is in response to the rising risks of disaster accidents due to climate change and the concentration of infrastructure, as well as the emergence of new types of fatal accidents caused by the enlargement and complexity of construction projects.

Under the chairmanship of Professor Park Seung-hee from Sungkyunkwan University, in the disaster safety discussion, Professor Park Jong-il from Seoul National University of Science and Technology presented on "The necessity of realistic preparedness and information sharing in disaster situations that occur sequentially with interdependence."

Huh Ik-bae, Director of the Disaster Safety Industry Division at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, emphasized "proactive preventive investment by the public sector, which has significant influence in the disaster safety field." Lee Young-mok, Director of Safety Innovation at Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Kim Dae-han, Director of Safety and Health at Korea Electric Power Corporation, introduced their organizations' "disaster management systems and safety activities."

In the subsequent industrial safety discussion, Professor Won Jeong-hoon from Chungbuk National University presented on "The importance and role of safety management by public client institutions." Lim Moon-kyu, Director of Safety Innovation at Korea Expressway Corporation, and Lee Jung-woo, Director of Safety and Health at Korea East-West Power Co., introduced safety and health activities at their respective client sites. Kim Pan-gi, Director of Construction Safety at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, proposed "measures to enhance the efficiency of public clients' roles and responsibilities in preventing industrial accidents."

More than 80 public institution practitioners in attendance shared effective proposals centered on the disaster and industrial safety promotion systems, major activities, and field case studies of key public institutions. Experts unanimously agreed that "disaster and industrial safety activities focused on prevention are more important than post-incident responses."

In his opening remarks, Ryu Jang-jin, Director of Safety and Health Projects at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, stated, "Public institutions regard the lives and safety of the people as the highest priority in their operations and are making various efforts." He added, "We will do our best to support the establishment of a leading safety-centered management system in public institutions at the frontline sites and further expand it to the private sector."

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