SPC Launches 'Safety Management Committee'... Appoints Former Yonsei University President Jeong Gap-yeong as Chairperson

by Moon Hyewon

Published 14 Nov.2022 10:28(KST)

Jeong Gap-yeong, former president of Yonsei University. Photo by SPC Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] SPC Group announced on the 14th that it has launched the 'Safety Management Committee' and appointed former Yonsei University President Jeong Gap-young as the chairman to strengthen safety management following the SPL bakery factory accident countermeasures.

The Safety Management Committee will oversee and recommend all matters related to industrial safety, labor environment, and social responsibility at SPC's affiliated business sites. To this end, SPC plans to guarantee the independent activities of the Safety Management Committee.

To ensure the committee's independence and objectivity, SPC has formed the Safety Management Committee with four external members and one internal member, and separately established a Safety Management Secretariat composed of field experts to enhance execution capability.

Former President Jeong, appointed as chairman, previously served as chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection's Audit Innovation Committee and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Future Development Committee, and currently chairs the board of directors at Korean Air. During his tenure as Audit Innovation Chairman, he was recognized for laying the groundwork for improving unreasonable practices and systems by leading the first external monitoring institution since the Board of Audit and Inspection's establishment.

Professor Cheon Young-woo of Inha University’s Environmental Safety Convergence Department, former Busan Employment and Labor Office Chief Jeong Ji-won, and former Korean Women Lawyers Association President Cho Hyun-wook were appointed as expert members of the Safety Management Committee.

Professor Cheon is an expert in industrial safety with over 10 years of experience at the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency’s Major Industrial Accident Prevention Office. Former Chief Jeong is known as a labor expert who worked nearly 30 years at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, focusing on resolving labor-management issues and promoting cooperation in industrial sites. Lawyer Cho, a former judge, served as a non-standing member of the National Human Rights Commission and president of the Korean Women Lawyers Association.

An SPC official said, “We have launched the Safety Management Committee by recruiting external members with expertise in various fields, led by Chairman Jeong Gap-young, who has driven change and innovation in multiple organizations. We will listen carefully to the committee’s opinions and actively reflect them to establish a new foundation for safety management.”

Meanwhile, according to the ‘Safety Management Enhancement Measures’ announced on the 21st of last month, SPC is sequentially conducting company-wide safety inspections through four external professional organizations certified by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and plans to announce improvement measures through the Safety Management Committee as soon as the safety inspections are completed by the end of this month.