Prime minister's office wants to reduce safety policies

By Jeong Ji-su

While the government’s safety management system is being criticized by the public after the ferry disaster, the prime minister’s office presented a plan to reduce safety policies for the sake of “regulatory reform,” said Nocut News on Friday.

The prime minister’s office announced its plans to reduce the total number of policies by 10-20 percent for each government sector starting from July.

In response, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries requested for an exemption for safety related policies from the reduction policy. However, the prime minister’s office denied it.

“We even have to get rid of safety regulations for mandatory policy reductions,” said a spokesman of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

In fact, maritime regulations have been softening since the days of former president Lee. There were a total number of 480 marine accidents reported in 2008 which almost doubled in 2011 to 948.

In response to the new deregulation, the Korea Forest Service let out a ridiculous plan. Currently, those who smoke in non-smoking areas such as national parks receive a fine of 300,000 won, but under the new rules, they will now have to pay a smaller fine of 200,000 won.