An exterior view of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency [Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency]
An exterior view of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency [Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency]

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and the Korea Environment Corporation have agreed to cooperate on preventing industrial accidents and spreading a culture of safety at environmental facility construction sites. The move comes as the expanded enforcement of the Serious Accidents Punishment Act has heightened the need for small and midsize construction firms to strengthen their safety management capabilities.

The two agencies signed a memorandum of understanding on "cooperation for industrial accident prevention and environmental safety" Wednesday at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

To raise safety management standards at environmental facility construction sites, the two agencies will pursue cooperation in four areas: sharing industrial accident prevention and environmental safety policies and information; strengthening risk assessment capabilities at directly operated, subcontracted and commissioned construction sites; expanding occupational safety and health activities; and providing education and technical advisory services on hazard prevention and smart safety technology tailored to environmental facilities.

The plan combines the Korea Environment Corporation's hands-on experience managing numerous environmental facility construction sites with the safety agency's expertise to proactively prevent fatal accidents and help small and midsize construction firms build self-managed safety systems. The partnership is expected to normalize safety practices at industrial sites and contribute to spreading a broader safety culture.

Kim Hyun-joong, chairman of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, said the agreement "creates an opportunity to integrate two core values — industrial accident prevention and environmental safety." He added that the agency would "do its utmost to proactively eliminate hazards at worksites and spread an advanced safety culture by combining the expertise and field capabilities of both organizations."


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