The Rural Development Administration, along with several National Assembly members and the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Industrial Accident Prevention, hosted a forum on ‘Measures to Improve Agricultural Safety and Health’ at the National Assembly on December 12. Experts from academia, industry, research, and government, as well as representatives from agricultural organizations, attended to discuss safety and disaster prevention policies for farmers and agricultural workers.
Cho Sung-ho, director of the Agricultural Policy Research Center, presented on ‘Current Status and Legal and Institutional Improvement Measures for Agricultural Safety and Health,’ introducing the current status of agricultural safety and health, support policies, and legal systems. He emphasized the need to strengthen legal systems to reduce agricultural work-related accidents.
Professor Kim Hyo-chul of the National Korea Agricultural and Fisheries University presented on ‘Application Directions of Industrial Safety and Health Management Systems in the Agricultural Sector,’ explaining that the unique nature of agricultural work, the aging agricultural population, and the structural limitations of small-scale farms make it difficult to apply general industrial safety and health management systems to agriculture. He proposed improving preventive laws and systems, strengthening the capabilities of dedicated personnel, expanding financial support, and enhancing R&D and customized safety education for farmers.
Rural Development Administration Commissioner Lee Seung-don stated in his opening remarks that the administration has established ‘Measures for Agricultural Safety and Disaster Prevention’ and is implementing strategies to reduce agricultural work-related death rates by 20%. He also emphasized efforts to develop and distribute smart safety technologies, provide standardized safety education, support customized pre-safety inspections and management improvements for farms, and focus on on-site safety management for vulnerable farmers.