SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) — The public safety ministry kicked off Monday a weeks-long safety check on major public facilities across the nation as the newly-created government body amps up efforts to prevent accidents.
The nationwide safety check will cover a total of 860,000 public sites and facilities including sea ports, bridges, high-rise apartments as well as elevators and public child facilities, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security said.
The safety check, which will involve private safety experts, will last till late April, according to the ministry.
This is the first massive safety examination by the public safety ministry since it was launched last year following the deadly sinking of the Sewol ferry in April.
The tragedy, which claimed more than 300 lives, sparked massive public safety jitters and led to the creation of the new government ministry.
The ministry said it will push for regulation revision to allow private investment as well as public funding in the government's repair work on public facilities.
It will also plan to consolidate and streamline public safety-related guidelines in order to better regulate safety affairs, the ministry noted.
"The budget for public safety has increased by 19.1 percent from last year to 14.7 trillion (US$13.4 billion) this year, which helped lay the groundwork for safety enhancement," Kim Dong-hyun, a ministry official said. "This latest government-private safety check will help prop up the level of public safety in our society and contribute to the growth of the safety industry." (Yonhap)
