Interior minister says reform plan on safety control measure on the way

A comprehensive plan to reform the safety control measures of the Korean government will be announced by the end of the year, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said Friday.

"The government is concentrating its capability on damage control, investigating the causes and response related to the accident, while preparing prevention measures," Lee said at meeting held to discuss reform measures of the state's disaster and safety controls.

“The government is also making efforts on all-out reform of the national safety control system, like promised," he said, adding that a separate rehabilitation plan on damages reported from the Oct. 29 Itaewon tragedy is also set to be announced soon.

Lee said the government has been supporting the bereaved and others affected by the incident through a "one-stop" support center launched Nov. 9.

Lee is the chief of a pangovernmental team involving 21 government agencies and experts assigned to discuss the emergency response system and preemptive disaster response.