(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Seung-han = It was found that some central ministries, including the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, repeatedly failed to participate in the joint radiological disaster prevention training, which is a legal training to check the national radiological disaster response system.
◇ Ministry of Education and Welfare absent for 5 consecutive years… 9 ministries left out at least once
On the 5th, as a result of analyzing the results received from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission by Rep. Kim Hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee of the National Assembly, there were a total of 24 cases of central government non-participation in field radiation disaster prevention command center dispatch training during joint training from 2018 to this year.
Radioactive disaster prevention joint training is a national-level legal training in which central ministries are required to participate together in accordance with the law.
This is a training to comprehensively inspect the response systems of each ministry, including resident evacuation, educational facilities, medical/health, transportation, industry, and food safety, in the event of an actual radioactive disaster.
The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Science and ICT, Ministry of Public Administration and Security, and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety are expected to participate and carry out their respective duties.
However, with the exception of some ministries such as the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, most ministries were found to have failed to participate in local training at least once.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare recorded the most with six each, followed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Ministry of National Defense with two. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety also absented once.
In particular, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare have not participated for five consecutive years starting in 2022.
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission requested the submission of reasons for non-participation starting in 2025, but the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare did not even submit reasons for non-participation that year.
Looking at the reasons for non-participation this year, most ministry officials were absent, citing reasons such as being busy with work, having to focus on safe nation training at their affiliated organizations, or sudden sick leave.
◇ Response gap repeated every year… Nuclear Safety and Security Commission "Separate training if unable to attend"
At the same time, it is pointed out that, except for 2020, when non-face-to-face training was conducted due to COVID-19, and 2021, when all ministries participated, departments did not participate every year, and the radioactive disaster response system at the national level was not fully inspected.
When a radioactive disaster occurs, responses in several areas, including not only resident evacuation but also school and student protection, medical support, traffic control, food safety, and military support, must be carried out simultaneously, so there is criticism that gaps in the response of some ministries may affect the operation of the entire disaster prevention system.
In fact, in Japan, among the 18 organizations in the 1st division and 8 stars that attended the local response headquarters of the Nuclear Disaster Response Center, which is the base for coordinating nuclear disaster prevention measures at the time of the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, only 5 organizations in the 1st division and 4 stars were the ones that actually dispatched employees, causing confusion in the on-site response of related organizations.
Rep. Kim pointed out that the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, the ministry in charge of training, did not provide follow-up training for ministries that did not participate, and did not take separate management or improvement measures for ministries that repeatedly failed to participate.
Rep. Kim Hyun said, “The joint radiological disaster prevention training is a process of checking whether the relevant organizations can act properly in an actual disaster situation,” and added, “The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission should separately manage ministries that repeatedly fail to participate and actively encourage their participation.”
Rep. Kim then urged, “As safety holes start from small gaps, we must thoroughly inspect the response system through regular training.”
The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission has continued to consult with related ministries to participate in training, and announced that it will continue to make greater efforts to encourage ministries to participate.
Park Jin-hee, director of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission's Radiation Disaster Prevention Bureau, said, "The joint training was conducted with the participation of more than 2,000 people, including the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, local governments, related ministries, nuclear power operators, and residents."
