The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 6th that it will begin a whole-of-government response to ground subsidence disasters based on the "standard manual for crisis management of ground subsidence disasters," which was established on the 1st.
This standard manual was established as ground subsidence disasters were included among types of social disasters and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) was designated as the lead disaster management agency through the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety.
The manual was established through the collection of opinions from relevant agencies, including central government agencies and local governments, in accordance with the disaster and safety management system, and deliberation by the crisis management manual council.
It includes the basic elements needed for disaster response, such as the criteria for issuing the four-stage crisis alert (attention-caution-warning-severe) for disasters in which large-scale damage is expected or has occurred due to ground subsidence accidents, the missions and roles by agency, and stage-by-stage crisis management activities.
In addition, based on the missions and roles specified in the standard manual, the basic framework was refined so that the crisis response working manuals of relevant agencies and the on-site action manuals of on-site response agencies can be linked and operated.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to refine the detailed action systems of relevant agencies based on this standard manual and to continue supplementing items identified during on-site response.
Kim Seok-gi, director general for construction policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), said, "With the establishment of this manual, we have put in place the basic framework for a whole-of-government response to ground subsidence disasters," and added, "We will continue to operate the response system to ground subsidence disasters without disruption, based on cooperation with relevant agencies."