The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) plans to draw up a long-term master plan to make Seoul safer from natural disasters and sexual attacks. 

The SMG has decided to draw up a master plan for preventing the occurrence of all accidents ranging from natural disasters to guard rail falls and safety accidents in cooperation with Seoulites. 

The plan was originally mapped out from a comprehensive mid- and long-term perspective every 20 years, but they are to be revamped every five years based on a feasibility study to cope with climate change, SMG officials said. 

The city government said a public hearing will be held for each category, based on the results of a survey of public awareness toward safety taken of 1,000 Seoulites. Factors causing misgivings among the general public will be analyzed to attach priority to promoting safety-related welfare, the officials said. 

Natural disasters, calamities caused by human error, epidemics, usual safety-related accidents, and crimes will figure prominently in the master plans. 

Floods, landslides, storms, heavy snow, sweltering heat, and earthquakes are classified as natural disasters, while fires, collapse of structures, explosions and bush fires are categorized as human-caused disasters. Traffic accidents, subway accidents, bicycle accidents, falls, and electrocution are divided into life-related safety accidents, while murders, robberies, sexual attacks, violence, and thefts are classified as crimes. Ways of preventing and coping with the top five crimes will be worked on.

The metropolitan government plans to reinforce countermeasures related to structure- and non-structure safety with a focus on citizens’  participation. To this end, the city government plans to hold an in-depth interview with 50 to 100 experts from academia and civic organizations to work on countermeasures against the disruption of infrastructure such as the City Hall and water recycling centers, general strikes or shutdowns of mass transportation, and the leakage of radioactive materials. 

The SMG plans to take its cue from the practices of foreign countries. It has decided to reflect international developments and standards after analyzing practices such as the U.S. federal government’ s policies on the easing of dangers and Japan’ s “Master Plan 2020 Tokyo.”

In order to share duties and establish cooperative networks, the city government plans to promote exchanges with wards and neighboring local governments in the public sector; Seoulites, civic organizations, and companies in the private sector; and international organizations and foreign metropolitan cities in the international sector. In particular, the SMG’ s Urban Safety Office will be charged with the establishment of the master plans to enhance efficiency, and organizational and management regimes will be established. 

An official at the Urban Safety Office said mid- and long-term plans on countermeasures against typhoons and floods will be revamped into master plans for integrating disaster management, and the paradigm will shift from post-disaster measures such as safety inspection and structure management to preventive measures. 

The master plans are expected to serve as a guideline to be applied for introducing all city administration policies, including the building of new houses and the offering of new welfare services. 

Here is a look at the master plan the SMG will draw up in each category: 

URBAN SAFETY MASTER PLAN °™  The municipal government plans to suggest a mid- and long-term urban safety vision, goals, and priority tasks, and systematically plan steps for the preventing of disasters to improve preparedness toward urban safety. 

The master plan is designed to set a paradigm for preventing urban disasters, which are on the rise in the wake of climate change and changing socio-economic conditions. It will specify urban safety core tasks and priority policies, draw up plans on roads and streams, and strengthen coordination in anti-disaster areas by ensuring connectivity. 

The Seoul Institute, under the control of the SMG, will be commissioned to conduct research on the features of the occurrence of disasters in the capital and changes in conditions; the analyzing of foreign cities’  trends; an overall analysis of urban safety and the exploration of core tasks; the establishment of action plans for each urban safety category; and ways of linking urban planning, roads, and streams.

The outcomes of the research will be revealed next February. 

SMART DISASTER SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM °™  The municipal government conducted work on the first phase of a disaster management system using the latest IT technologies during the period between December 2011 and February 2012. To this end, the SMG’ s disaster all-source situation room has already moved into the new City Hall building; CCTVs, handled by five affiliated organizations, have been integrated; and a disaster management Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Information Strategy Planning have been established. 

The Phase II project calls for advancing a disaster management system during the period between 2013 and 2015, during which the SMG will establish an intelligent image control system, a disaster prediction system, and 15 other informatization systems. 

SMART DISASTER SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM °™  Twenty-six comprehensive anti-heat headquarters have been operational in ward areas to protect citizens from the severe heat that hit Seoul and other parts of the nation during the period between June and August 2012. A total of 119 people were reported to have suffered from the severe heat, but there were no reported related deaths. 

The city government stepped up activities to protect the underprivileged, including the elderly who live alone and the physically handicapped, extend opening hours of 3,072 shelters for the elderly until 10 p.m., and strengthen activities to rescue patients suffering from severe heat.

SWELTERING HEAT °™  The SMG plans to establish an urban safety net so that those vulnerable to disasters, including the elderly, children, and the physically handicapped, can be protected from a variety of disasters.

The number of those who are vulnerable to disasters is estimated at 846,612, the municipal government said.