Environment ministry to inspect electrical safety at 500 workplaces

The environment ministry said it will inspect electrical safety management at about 500 workplaces nationwide, targeting sites where failures could cause heavy casualties or property damage.

The seven-week inspection runs from Sept. 28 to Nov. 13, the ministry said, citing the Electrical Safety Management Act. It will verify how electrical safety managers are appointed and whether they carry out their duties, and whether sites have completed required periodic inspections of their electrical equipment.

The sites selected include workplaces that have not appointed an electrical safety manager, facilities used by large numbers of people, and power generation and electric vehicle charging facilities.

Minor problems found during the inspection will be corrected on the spot, according to the ministry. Violations of the law will draw corrective orders, fines or criminal complaints, with the severity of the breach taken into account. The ministry also plans to use the findings to address gaps in the electrical safety management system and improve how it works in practice.

"The electrical safety management inspection is about blocking the risk of electrical accidents in advance through preventive safety management centered on the field," Kim Yong-woon, head of the ministry's energy safety and efficiency division, said in the statement. "The government will make securing electrical safety its top priority to protect people's lives and property and will do its utmost to create a safe electrical environment."