On June 12, during a meeting of the Emergency Economic Headquarters and the Economic Relations Ministers' Meeting at the Government Seoul Building, Koo Yun-cheol, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, announced the "Factory and Warehouse Fire Safety Inspection Plan." This plan targets factories and warehouses with a total floor area of over 500 square meters, as well as facilities storing hazardous materials and high-risk workplaces, to assess their fire vulnerabilities and legal compliance.
This inspection initiative follows a series of tragic incidents, including a fire at a safety industrial complex in Daejeon that resulted in 14 fatalities, and another fire at Hanwha Aerospace's Daejeon plant that claimed four lives. Previously, inspections were conducted separately by various ministries under laws governing construction, hazardous materials, industrial safety, and chemical management, but concerns have been raised about the limitations of this fragmented approach.
The inspection will cover 190,000 facilities out of a total of 730,000 factories and warehouses nationwide, focusing on compliance with building codes, installation of non-combustible sandwich panels, fire safety equipment such as sprinklers and fire hydrants, handling of hazardous materials, and overall safety management in industrial, electrical, and chemical sectors.
To carry out the inspections, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Environment, and the National Fire Agency will form joint inspection teams. Additionally, private experts and young professionals will be involved, along with personnel from local governments, fire departments, and labor offices.
A pilot inspection will be conducted on about 100 factories in the Gyeonggi region from this month until next month, followed by the first phase of the main inspections starting in September. The inspections are expected to be completed in three phases by the end of next year.
The government plans to take immediate corrective actions for any illegal expansions or safety management deficiencies identified during the inspections and will create a database to integrate inspection results from various ministries. This will serve as a foundation for improving the overall safety management system for factories and warehouses.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.