The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 24th that it held an inspection meeting to prepare for natural disasters (typhoons and heavy rain) in the summer of 2026 ahead of the monsoon season.
The meeting was presided over by Kim Woo-jung, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS). It shared the disaster preparedness status of 13 regional SMEs and Startups Offices (regional offices), a national industrial high school, and affiliated agencies, and discussed future plans.
First, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) reviewed on-site inspection results and response plans by organization. It conducted safety inspections at about 300 traditional markets with a high risk of flooding and addressed risk factors by maintaining drainage, installing flood barriers, and replacing aging electrical facilities.
It also strengthened safety management for vulnerable factors in traditional markets and aging factory complexes where secondary disasters such as fires caused by short circuits after flooding are possible.
Based on what was discussed at the last meeting, it also expanded major --- in line with regional industrial conditions. Focusing on disaster-prone zones within industrial complexes with records of past heavy rain damage, it set up cooperation systems with relevant organizations, including the competent regional offices and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (KOSME), and carried out on-site safety inspections. The national industrial high school, while strengthening preparations for heavy rain such as preventing leaks on campus, also checked hygiene management in the cafeteria.
It also improved the disaster response system. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) established an activation system by emergency stage centered on the disaster safety situation room. To ensure response to situations at night or on weekends, it rechecked real-time emergency contact networks with related parties such as fire and police, as well as traditional market merchant associations.
Along with advance inspections for preparedness, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to operate the disaster safety situation room 24 hours a day during the monsoon and typhoon period. In the event of disaster damage, it will operate a "one-stop support center" to check the damage status and provide support such as emergency management stabilization funds.
Kim Woo-jung, Deputy Minister for Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS), said, "I ask each regional office and affiliated agency to promptly take on-site measures to prevent damage."