Korea Electrical Safety Corp. (KESCO) President Lee Sang-kwon said his corporation aims at lowering the percentage of fires caused by electricity to levels of advanced countries by 2016.
“Protecting people’s lives and properties from electricity disasters is KESCO’s mission and core task,” President Lee said in a recent interview. “Despite KESCO and government’s efforts, the portion of fires caused by electricity is still hovering at a range of 20 percent in a few decades, and lowering the figure to a range of 15 percent, levels of advanced countries, by 2016 is my utmost goal for my term.”
KESCO is seeking to revise regulations as accidents keep on occurring, particularly from facilities that are not subject to mandatory inspection, not only causing huge economic damages, but also exacerbating public misgivings over safety, Lee added.
President Lee, who took office this past February, said his attention toward safety was extraordinary. In particular, he once served as a prosecutor in charge of investigating the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul that claimed 502 lives in 1995.
Earlier, Lee recalled that the department store gave in because the structure, originally designed as a four-story leisure facility, was expanded to five-stories illegally, and safety could only be guaranteed whenever rules are observed.
The ferry Sewol disaster claimed more than 300 lives this past April, nearly nine years after the Sampoong Department Store collapse. Lee said the Koreans’ “go fast” mentality and insensitivity to safety are long-held habits that die hard.
This is the reason why the KESCO President set his management tenet as “principled management” when he took office.
KESCO reorganized its structure, newly installing the Advanced Technology and Safety Service Department and the Electricity Disaster Reduction Department under the Safety Planning Office, and the International Cooperation Department under the Growth Engine Division. The reorganization was designed to innovate the way KESCO’s major responsibilities are carried out and to strengthen overseas market exploration.
KESCO relocated its headquarters from Seoul to Wanju, one of the innovative cities in Jeollabuk-do, on June 16.
The 2014 Korea Electricity Safety Grand Prix ceremony, hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and organized by KESCO, is designed to present awards to those who have contributed to ensuing electricity safety and spreading public awareness of electricity safety.
The hotel’s steps to ensure electricity safety are extraordinary. It was praised for securing 10,50kW reserve power and an in-house combined cycle power. The hotel also has at least two employees required to change electricity sources in the case of emergency. A hotline connecting such places as the Seomeon Subway Station, the hotel’s situation room, the Busanjin Fire Station and KEPCO Bukbusan Office is also in place.
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