Extinguishing a burning truck and developing a shade road app... 7 people selected for ‘Seoul City Safety Award’

Seven people who protected the safety of citizens, such as stopping a truck that was on fire to extinguish the fire and developing an app that provides guidance on shaded paths for vulnerable pedestrians during a heat wave, will receive the Seoul City Safety Award.

The city of Seoul announced on the 10th that it would select six individuals and one organization as winners of the '12th Seoul Safety Award' and award the awards at City Hall at 3 p.m. on the 11th.

This year's grand prize went to Kim Gwang-yeon, a volunteer firefighter at Eunpyeong Fire Station.

In March of this year, Mr. Kim was recognized for his contribution to reducing the damage by discovering a truck running with its cargo compartment on fire, notifying the driver of the fire, and extinguishing the fire early with a vehicle fire extinguisher.

Mr. Kim, who has been working as a volunteer firefighter since 2018, quickly responded to a large truck fire that broke out in the Sapaesan Tunnel on the 1st Ring Expressway in the metropolitan area in 2023 and prevented the spread of damage.

The grand prize goes to Lim Seung-man, a postman at the Seoul Gangnam Post Office, and Yoo Min-jun, a student at Seoul National University.

When a fire broke out in a stopped truck in August, Lim brought a fire extinguisher from a nearby community center, evacuated the driver, and extinguished the fire himself.

Mr. Yoo developed the pedestrian navigation app 'Geuneulro' to help people with disabilities walk in the shade during heat waves, and shared related ideas with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to suggest ways to improve the mobile-based 'Seoul Safety Nuri' function.

The Excellence Award goes to delivery worker Jeong Hoon-seok, who inspected potholes and other risk factors during delivery, and Dobong-gu Office Supervisor Yoon Shin-jeong and Seoul Transportation Corporation Cha Seung-hoo, who rescued citizens through CPR.

The Excellence Award in the group category goes to Hongwon Construction, which worked as an emergency recovery team for private hazardous facilities in Gangbuk-gu and provided manpower and equipment to sites of embankment collapses and car accidents.

The Seoul Safety Award was established to discover citizens and organizations that have contributed to disaster prevention and response, and the spread of safety culture. This year, a total of 25 recommendations were received and the winners were selected through public verification and screening.

Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs Park Chan-gu said, "I am grateful to the awardees who did not hesitate in dangerous moments to save the lives of citizens and look out for risk factors in everyday life," and added, "We will spread the value of safety together with citizens to create a city where everyone can live with peace of mind."