Good morning, fellow Koreans,

It has not rained since last month, and there are great concerns about drought in this farming season. Worse yet, the weather is getting hotter and electricity consumption is surging. It is necessary for us all to take part in a drive to save electricity.

The Government held the 123rd Meeting for Emergency Economic Measures last Thursday to discuss the problems of human casualties arising from a variety of disasters. It was intended to take measures to protect precious lives and property from disasters and catastrophes before the rainy season and the summer vacation season start.

The participants also reviewed how successful the three-year old government campaign to make a “Safe Republic of Korea” has been.

The meeting was attended by government officials responsible for public safety, disaster specialists and business leaders as well as relevant ministers. They discussed how to create a more efficient system to prevent disasters and calamities and how to enhance public awareness of safety.

In the early days after the inauguration of my Administration, the Government came up with a package of measures to upgrade safety systems and advance the public awareness of safety. Since then, it has carried out campaigns to achieve those goals. As a result, there have been marked changes. The death toll in traffic accidents has drastically dropped to approximately 5,000 last year from somewhere in the 7,000s in 2002. The number of deaths in industrial accidents shows a steadily declining trend.

Nevertheless, various disaster-related statistics make us still ashamed to say that we are on the threshold of becoming an advanced country.

As of 2010, the annual death toll from industrial accidents, traffic accidents and fire exceeded 10,000 and the overall economic loss reached 32 trillion won. Last year witnessed more than 340,000 people injured due to traffic accidents.

Compared with major countries in the world, Korea clearly lags far behind.

The death rate from traffic accidents was 120 per million people, three times higher than that of the United Kingdom and Japan. The number was the highest among the OECD countries except for Greece. The death toll from industrial accidents was nine per 100,000 workers, which was also the highest barring Turkey and Mexico.

The number of people who commit suicide annually is approximately 15,000, the highest among the OECD member countries. Notably, the suicide rate among senior citizens is rapidly increasing.

This is the very reason why I cannot say for sure that Korea joined the ranks of advanced nations, even though I boast about our country’s remarkable success stories at meetings with leaders of other nations.

When it comes to safety consciousness, Korea still has a long way to go.

Recently, a truck driver who drove while watching his DMB hit some professional cyclists training on the road. To our great distress and sadness, the incident claimed the lives of three athletes, injuring four others.

The following is what Moon Un, president of the Korea Exemplary Taxi Drivers Association, had to say. He has a 30-year driving experience.

“Though I am a veteran driver, I often feel scared by other drivers. Some of them are watching DMB, sending text messages and operating their car navigation system while driving. How dangerous such acts are. They could lead to deaths. Regulations aimed at penalizing DMB watching at the wheel have recently been drawn up. I am for them with no strings attached.”

Yet another prime example of a man-made disaster was a recent fire that broke out at a karaoke bar located in Seomyeon, Busan. The owner’s insensitivity to safety was the culprit that took many lives. An illegal alteration to an emergency exit and the owner’s failure to comply with safety regulations increased the casualties and damage.

In advanced nations, safety education starts from childhood. Professor Lee Myeong-sun of Ewha Womans University especially emphasized the significance of safety education at schools.

“Culture is the aggregation of values. Values, in turn, have a lot to do with education. What matters the most in building a safe society like those of advanced nations is not the per capita income of US$20,000 but the safety education at school. In the State of New York, safety education is mandatory, and in France, only those who took safety education are eligible to take the driving test.”

In preventing industrial accidents, the high safety consciousness of CEOs is also very important. The following is what Hwang Jae-woo, CEO of Kwangyang Enterprise with a 19-year accident-free history, had to say.

“As a CEO, I have several safety rules that I implement at the company. One of them is to prohibit starting any work until safety is fully secured. My goal is to make every employee a safety expert. The best safety management is the best human resources management.”

Kwangyang Enterprise even makes sure that the dining establishment that the company uses for group dinners has two or more exits. The company conducts 120 hours of safety classes annually. A total of 200 out of 600 employees have already been issued certificates of completion of the course. I hope this kind of program will spread widely.

Whether disasters happen by natural causes or by human errors, damage can be reduced considerably if we are prepared for any contingency and respond accordingly.

The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project was a typical preventive endeavor. Since the project was completed last year, flood damage that recurred consistently every summer has been greatly curtailed. It has been forecast that the nation will have heavy rains this summer, but I do not anticipate the kinds of major disasters we suffered before.

If we can cut by half the human-induced losses that averaged 32 trillion won annually, we will benefit that much in the form of economic growth and welfare for the people.

The United States and the United Kingdom have top command offices for disaster management directly under the President and the Royal  Family, respectively, in order to effectively coordinate various government agencies. The Korean Government will focus on the effort to install a disaster prevention system comparable to other advanced countries.

Fellow citizens,

Among the countries that have a population of 50 million or over, Korea has become the seventh nation to achieve a per capita income of US$20,000. However, we cannot become a truly advanced leading nation solely based on the size of the population or national income. A genuine advanced nation is one in which every citizen can lead a life in a safe environment.

When a person dies or gets injured in an accident, the people close to them also suffer life-long pain. As the monsoon rains and summer holidays approach, I ask every one of you to take special safety precautions and protect invaluable life.

Thank you very much.