The government has decided to raise the safety and disaster management indicators of public institution management evaluations to the highest level since their introduction, and to reduce the liability ratio of public institutions from 202.2% to 190.1% through long-term financial management plans. It aims to legalize safety management to strengthen the responsibility of heads of institutions, while also continuously expanding investments in essential social overhead capital (infrastructure) such as dwellings and energy.
According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the 8th Public Institution Management Committee meeting held at the Government Seoul Building on the morning of the 1st discussed key agendas such as strengthening safety management at public institutions and long-term financial management plans.
First, the government will legalize safety management at public institutions and significantly strengthen the responsibilities of heads of institutions. Legal grounds will be established to fire heads of institutions who are responsible for major accidents due to violations of safety management principles, and the safety responsibility of heads of institutions will be reflected as a main evaluation item in management evaluations.
In particular, the scoring for the industrial accident prevention area in the 'safety and disaster management indicators' within the management evaluation will be raised to the highest level since its introduction. The current score of only 0.5 points for accident prevention indicators will be significantly increased, and institutions with excellent safety management performance will be awarded incentives by introducing bonuses. In the safety management grade evaluation, the score for the 'accident fatality reduction performance and efforts' indicator will also be increased from 100 points to 150 points.
The target for safety management grade evaluations will expand from the existing 73 to all 104 public enterprises and quasi-government institutions. The proportion of on-site evaluations for construction sites will also increase, and businesses with a high incidence of fatal accidents will be managed more strictly.
Management disclosures will also be strengthened. The disclosure of the number of industrial accident fatalities will be expanded from once a year to quarterly, and a new item for the disclosure of major accident injuries will be introduced. Investigations into the working conditions of two-person teams for high-risk tasks and checks on whether new hires can work alone will also be promoted. The government plans to expand the use of new technologies such as intelligent CCTV, drones, and artificial intelligence in safety management, and support the recognition that safety investments are 'investments, not expenses.'
During the meeting, the '2025-2029 Long-term Financial Management Plan for Public Institutions,' which contains the management goals and financial outlook of 35 major public institutions for the next five years, was also discussed. This plan has been formulated to reflect the demand for essential infrastructure investments such as dwellings and roads in line with the new government's national strategic agenda, and to strengthen the leading role of public institutions.
Major projects include the construction of the West Coast Energy Expressway by the Korea Electric Power Corporation, offshore wind power investments by power generation companies, and the dwelling purchase and lease project by Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH). The West Coast Energy Expressway project utilizes renewable energy to enhance electricity supply to the capital region, with approximately 1 trillion won being invested by 2029, and the goal for full completion by 2036.
The government plans to expand policy investments while also pursuing self-reform efforts led by institutions. It intends to continue adjusting investment priorities based on business demand, reducing and abolishing poorly performing, similar, or redundant projects to restructure expenditures.
According to the long-term financial plan, the liability ratio of 35 institutions is expected to improve from 202.2% this year to 190.1% by 2029. During the same period, the scale of liabilities is expected to increase by 127 trillion 600 billion won to reach 847 trillion 800 billion won; however, the pace of capital expansion is expected to be faster, thus reducing the ratio.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Ku Yun-cheol, noted, 'It is necessary for public institutions to take an active role in boldly investing in key areas such as AI infrastructure for a transformative economic shift towards ultra-innovation.' He also stated, 'Excessive liabilities can constrain investment capacity, therefore we must ensure sustained self-reform efforts to secure productivity and financial capacity.'