Safety Culture is “that assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals and requires all individuals’ devotion to and responsibility for it”. In Korea, there had been the lack of safety culture and unsystematic rescues led by private organizations until Sampoong Department Store collapsed in 1995. This accident garnered national attention and triggered enactment of laws and regulations about safety, and endeavor to construct efficient cooperation systems led by the government.
To invigorate Safety Culture Campaign, we must have a questioning attitude about the current level of safety, get rid of negligence in our institutions and reinforce a sense of responsibility and safety awareness.
Why Safety Culture Campaign
You might have heard of “Pali Pali”, which refers to Koreans’ quick temper. An excessive emphasis on the narrow definition of efficiency in Korea resulted in a distorted concept of efficiency which has Koreans intolerant.
We’ve had to pay enormous social expenses for the man-made disasters such as collapse of Seongsu Bridge and Sampool Department Store, Hwaseong Seeland fire. That was because we just focused on economic growth and material prosperity, ignoring the safety level required for the highly industrialized society.
As Korea got into an advanced industrial society, risk factors in our lives and industrial settings have increased. This tendency is getting accelerated by pursuing economic efficiency resulting in a variety of modern convenience like much higher and much deeper buildings, frequent use of automobiles.
The most effective way to manage disasters is to prevent accidents beforehand and organize systematic activities through campaigns and raising awareness of safety.
Etymology of the term “Safety Culture”
The term Safety Culture was first used in “Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident (1988, INSAG).
Safety Culture INSAG defined;
“That assembly of characteristics and attitudes in organizations and individuals which establishes that, as an overriding priority, nuclear plant safety issues receive the attention warranted by their significance”.
Safety Culture in Korea
Before 1995: there barely existed safety culture limited to corporations’ PR and compensation for industrial accident victims, unsystematically led by private organization.
After 1995: As national attention to safety arose after Sampoong Department Store collapse on June 29th,1995, the government defined the concept of Safety Culture with enactment of laws and regulations and construction of efficient cooperation systems for disaster management.
Definition of Safety Culture in Korea
The holistic combination of mind, behavior and attitude to consider safety-prior values as an inevitable element for all activities and a tool for achieving a safe society.
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