[2017 Study Report on Presidential Success Factors] Organizational Reform Measures for the Ministry of Public Safety and Security to Establish a Comprehensive Disaster and Safety Management System

Abstract

Experiencing large-scale disasters such as the spread of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, the Sewol ferry incident, the MERS outbreak, the Gyeongju earthquake, and Typhoon Chaba has highlighted various problems, and the reasons for repeated failures in disaster management are as follows. First, the strong command tower function is not properly performed during disaster occurrences. Second, the system for disaster preparedness is insufficient. Lastly, there is ambiguity in the scope of work for systematically managing complex and special disasters. Particularly, in cases requiring inter-agency collaboration for complex and special disasters, such as nuclear safety accidents, it is difficult to expect a role that can provide substantial functionality. As a solution, the Ministry of Public Safety and Security should be elevated to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, and it must secure the authority and responsibility to integrate and coordinate specialized agencies. For comprehensive disaster and safety management, the organization must be redesigned to properly perform the overall coordination function for collaboration, the integrated disaster management coordination function, and the dedicated function that guarantees expertise.

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“The current role of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security will face practical difficulties and may continue to be criticized for the absence of a command tower. Although the Safety Policy Coordination Committee has been established to discuss and coordinate disaster and safety policies, the awareness of the committee's role among ministries is low, and it lacks the authority and means to enforce it due to being superseded by economic logic or work priorities.”

“The system for disaster preparedness is insufficient. Governments and local governments often have lax management systems for setting disaster preparedness goals and preparing for new or large-scale disasters.”

“The scope of work for systematically managing complex and special disasters is ambiguous. Due to the diversity and complexity of disasters, complex disasters where disaster types or causes appear in two or more, and unpredictable special disasters, manifest as actual phenomena.”

“The Ministry of Public Safety and Security should be elevated to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, and it must secure the authority and responsibility to integrate and coordinate specialized agencies.”

“The basic direction for comprehensive disaster and safety management is that the organization must be redesigned to properly perform the overall coordination function for collaboration, the integrated disaster management coordination function, and the dedicated function that guarantees expertise.”

“To integrate crisis response or disaster response efforts in Korea, a 'National Crisis Management Center' should be established and operated within the Blue House.”

“Coordination of activities by government ministries and affiliated agencies is essential during complex, special, and large-scale disasters. Therefore, the National Integrated Response Coordination Headquarters of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security should be able to play a central role in coordinating national resources.”

Author

Lee Dong-gyuProfessor of Public Policy, Seokdang Academy of Liberal Arts, Dong-A University. Ph.D. in Public Administration from Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School of Governance. Recent works include: “A Study on the Roles and Responsibilities between Central and Local Governments in the Infectious Disease Management System: Focusing on Seoul Metropolitan Government's Autonomy Establishment Plan to Strengthen Early MERS Response,” “A Preliminary Study on the Operational Direction of Disaster Management Systems Based on Big Data: Focusing on Comparative Cases of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Korea,” and “A Preliminary Study on the Safety of Buildings with Disaster Vulnerabilities, Focusing on Comparative Legal Perspectives of Korea and the United States.”