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

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency and Korea East-West Power are joining forces to conduct joint inspections of high-risk power plant processes and strengthen safety management capabilities among contractors.

The agency announced Monday it will sign a memorandum of understanding with Korea East-West Power on Tuesday at its headquarters in Ulsan's Jung-gu, formalizing cooperation to prevent industrial accidents in the power sector and build a mutual safety and health framework.

The agreement comes as a series of major industrial accidents has heightened the need to strengthen safety management at power plants, which are classified as critical national infrastructure. The MOU aims to combine the agency's occupational safety and health expertise with Korea East-West Power's on-site management capabilities, given the nature of the power generation business, where large-scale equipment and high-risk processes are concentrated.

Under the agreement, the two organizations will support education programs to help contractors and subcontractors build sound safety and health management systems. They will also run hands-on training sessions to raise safety awareness among Korea East-West Power employees.

For processes with a high accident risk, the two sides will conduct joint inspections to identify and address on-site hazards. They also agreed to jointly develop customized occupational safety and health education materials tailored to the characteristics of each power plant.

The two organizations will also cooperate on measuring the effectiveness of safety activities in the field and establishing related systems. The agency said it expects the MOU to raise the safety and health capabilities of small and midsize contractors and improve overall safety standards across the power industry.

"Safety in the power sector, a pillar of national infrastructure, is directly linked to the safety of our entire society," agency chief Kim Hyeon-jung said. "We will work closely with Korea East-West Power to eliminate workplace hazards and do our utmost to create safe working environments."


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