President Kang Gi-yun of Korea South-East Power (KOEN) is throwing his full weight behind power plant safety management under the banner "there is no tomorrow for safety."

President Kang visited the Samcheonpo Power Division on the 7th and the Yeosu Power Division on the 13th last month. He first checked workers' safety and health conditions in person at the site work logs, central control room, and coal unloading yard. He then overhauled ▲ on-site safety management practices ▲ access control for high-risk work zones ▲ compliance with safety equipment use ▲ communication systems with partner companies.

On the 13th of last month, Kang Gi-yoon, president of Korea South-East Power (KOEN), visits and inspects the Yeosu Power Plant headquarters. /Courtesy of Korea South-East Power (KOEN)

At the time, Kang said, "Human life comes first. With the mindset that safety is 'an investment, not an expense,' we must proactively allocate budgets to secure safety in advance. With the belief that 'there is no tomorrow when it comes to safety,' any hazards detected must be addressed on the spot immediately."

KOEN is building a safety system based on artificial intelligence (AI) closed-circuit (CC)TV. It is strengthening accident prevention functions so it can quickly detect and respond to danger signals such as workers not wearing safety gear, fire detection, and worker falls. It has also introduced AI heavy equipment human-collision prevention alarms.

It then carried out an organizational restructuring that elevated the safety organization from a "bureau" to a "division." It also established a Safety Management Committee. It is composed of a total of 15 Commissioners, including KOEN's executives, executives of partner corporations, the representative of the KOEN labor union, the representative of the partner companies' labor union, and external safety experts.

Group photo of the 1st Safety Management Committee at Korea South-East Power (KOEN). /Courtesy of Korea South-East Power (KOEN)

The Safety Management Committee is a deliberation and advisory body in the field of safety established in accordance with the government's "Guidelines on Safety Management of Public Institutions." It discusses major matters related to safety and health and provides opinions on policy formulation.

President Kang Gi-yun said, "KOEN employees and partner companies must protect on-site safety together. We will achieve the creation of a 'safe and healthy workplace' and strive to become a model public power corporation in industrial safety and health."

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