- Full operation of disaster safety control tower with the establishment of the Disaster Safety Management Bureau, construction of safety infrastructure, and budget increase -

Ulsan Nam-gu (Mayor Dong-wook Seo) is focusing its efforts on creating a safety city free from disasters by establishing a preemptive and systematic response system to cope with the recent increase in large-scale, complex natural disasters caused by climate change, as well as social disasters.

Through organizational restructuring, the “Disaster Safety Management Bureau” has been newly established, and the disaster safety budget has been increased by KRW 4.4 billion from last year to KRW 14.1 billion, significantly strengthening its function as a control tower for disaster and safety sectors.

Departments dedicated to natural disasters and social disasters will be newly established within the Disaster Safety Management Bureau. Centered on this bureau, the district will improve response capabilities for each type of disaster and refine the system to enable rapid situation judgment, command, and coordination in the event of a disaster, thereby building a true disaster safety control tower.

Aiming for constant disaster response and the advancement of a 24-hour disaster situation management system, the 24-hour Disaster Safety Situation Room will be relocated to the first floor. Additionally, to detect disaster possibilities in advance and improve initial response capabilities when situations occur, an integrated platform for the Disaster Safety Situation Room linked with major infrastructure programs such as rivers, roads, and public facilities will be built.

To improve practical response capabilities and minimize human casualties in the event of a disaster, internal simulation drills based on manuals for 45 disaster types will be conducted monthly starting in February.

Furthermore, to more closely protect the living safety of residents, the coverage of the District Resident Safety Insurance has been expanded this year from 19 types to 21 types, adding diagnosis fees for dog bite accidents and heat-related illnesses.

As a lifestyle-oriented safety policy, a heatwave shelter utilizing unused space at the Samsan-dong drainage pumping station site, a Ministry of Environment climate crisis contest project (KRW 500 million), is planned to be created before July.

Also, starting this year, an intelligent selective control system will be fully applied to 1,670 fixed CCTV cameras within the jurisdiction.

This system acts as an AI assistant aiding control personnel. By having AI recognize and analyze objects showing abnormal behavior and automatically displaying them to the control center, it significantly increases the possibility of preemptively blocking crimes and accidents.

The Safe Return Home Service App will also be completely overhauled to further enhance user-centric convenience, and the district plans to actively implement a safe Nam-gu that residents can tangibly experience.

In particular, as current disaster-related information is dispersed by agency (department), limiting systematic management and administrative use, Nam-gu will collaborate with the Land Information Division to fully promote the “Disaster/Accident Response Spatial Information Safety Map Construction Project.” This project integrates disaster/accident-related data and visualizes it using spatial information technology, a first among local governments in the region.

Nam-gu previously won an encouragement award at the Local Official Policy Research Presentation Contest last year for integrating past regional disaster/accident information (such as habitual inundation areas, explosions/collapses, fires, hazardous chemical leaks, sinkholes) and response infrastructure information (including shelters, temporary housing facilities, heat shelters, drainage pumping stations) to build thematic safety maps.

Based on winning the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award for two consecutive years for regional safety and welfare service improvement projects, the district will continue this year to utilize the Dong (neighborhood) Safety Consultative Groups to remove risk factors in disaster-vulnerable areas in advance and strengthen customized management measures. By expanding safety activities in which residents participate directly, the district aims to strengthen a local community-centered safety management system and establish a safety culture in daily life.

In addition, the maintenance project for the Sinjeong 3 Natural Disaster Risk Improvement District to prevent flood damage in Sinjeong 3-dong is being pushed forward in earnest and is scheduled for completion in October. The installation project for rainwater outflow reduction facilities in the Jeonggol District, aimed at preventing flood damage in residential areas by reducing rainwater outflow and maintaining drainage channels in the Mugeo-dong area, is also scheduled to begin construction in August this year.

Through the establishment of the Disaster Safety Management Bureau, Nam-gu plans to actively respond to the changing disaster environment and accelerate the realization of a ‘city where safety is daily life’ that protects the lives and property of residents.

A Nam-gu official stated, “The Disaster Safety Management Bureau goes beyond a simple organizational establishment; it is a core control tower dedicated to disaster and safety,” adding, “Starting in 2026, we will build a more systematic and trusted disaster safety response system.”