"If workers die on the job, growth means nothing," Lee says ahead of Itaewon anniversary

"With Basic Life Safety Act taking effect in December, we must save every life we can"

President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the second plenary session of the National Life Safety Committee at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the second plenary session of the National Life Safety Committee at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that no national priority outweighs protecting the lives and safety of citizens, and pledged to make the Basic Life Safety Act — set to take effect in December — a genuine guarantee of the public's right to safety.

Speaking at the plenary session of the National Life Safety Committee at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said the phrase "make it through today safely" — once a slogan painted on vehicles of transport workers and at hazardous worksites — had become a core responsibility of the state. "In the past, safety was something you had to secure for yourself, not something anyone else would protect for you," he said.

Lee went on to say that human life must come first above all else. "Even if the economy grows and the country develops, it means nothing if people lose their lives at work and never come home," he said. "There is no value that the state should place above protecting the lives and safety of its people. I have said many times that our government must be a government that saves lives. Some groups use the slogan 'life over money' — I think that really is what matters most."

Lee also called for reflection on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Itaewon crowd crush. "Tomorrow marks four years since the Itaewon crowd crush," he said. "Before and after that tragedy, there were clearly deaths that could have been prevented and lives that could have been saved. We must always ask ourselves, painfully and honestly, whether the state truly protected its people's lives in every disaster and tragedy we have endured, and whether victims and their families received adequate support."

Lee explained the purpose of the Basic Life Safety Act, which takes effect in December. "Though it came late, the Basic Life Safety Act — which enshrines the right to safety as a statutory fundamental right — was created through the efforts of everyone here," he said. "This law embodies the reflection and resolve of our entire nation: that we will never again lose precious lives because the state failed to act."

He added that the law's origins must never be forgotten. "We must never forget that this law was built upon countless tears and suffering," Lee said. "What matters now is actually guaranteeing the right to safety written into this law. The success of this legislation should be measured not by how many policies were drawn up, but by how many more lives were truly protected and saved."

Lee urged the committee to put their collective experience to work. "Even at this very moment, people across our society are losing their lives. We must keep reducing the deaths the government could have prevented by moving faster," he said. "I hope that the experience and wisdom each of you brings together today will become a precious foundation for saving even one more life in the Republic of Korea."


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