New Year's Message from Occupational Health Leaders: President Kim Sang-ho to dedicate efforts to the prevention of occupational musculoskeletal disorders and improvement of work efficiency

Safety First Dot News Editorial Office Input: 2024.01.01. 10:53

Kim Sangho, President of the Ergonomics Society of Korea

[SafeFirst Dot News] Hello, everyone. I am Kim Sang-ho, the 22nd President of the Korean Society of Human Factors Engineering. I would like to extend my greetings to all safety and health professionals nationwide as we welcome the New Year of 2024. I hope you stay healthy and experience only joyous moments in your homes and workplaces throughout the year.

Safety and health are fundamental needs and rights that everyone desires. However, the true fruition of these values occurs when a culture is established, emphasizing their societal importance and striving collectively to achieve them. It is unfortunate that the value of safety and health seems to be relatively underestimated in our society. Nevertheless, thanks to your continuous efforts under challenging conditions, I believe that this year, too, we will take another step closer to becoming a safer and healthier society. I promise that members of the Korean Society of Human Factors Engineering, including myself, will strive even harder.

The year 2024 holds special significance for the Ergonomics Society of Korea, which has a history of over 40 years. This is because we will host the International Ergonomics Association(IEA) World Congress for the second time, following the 2003 event in Seoul. Up until now, only seven countries worldwide, including South Korea, have hosted this congress twice.

We are diligently preparing for IEA 2024 to successfully establish ourselves as a leading nation in human factors engineering. We invite all society members to actively participate in the academic congress, which will take place from August 25th for five days, featuring various presentations and events related to safety and health.

In the field of safety and health, ergonomics specialists have been at the forefront of designing and improving job duties and work environments from the worker's perspective to prevent occupational musculoskeletal disorders and enhance work efficiency. Since 2022, the Ergonomics Society of Korea, in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, has been implementing an award system for outstanding workplace improvement cases. This year, we hope for your active support and participation to discover and disseminate even more exemplary cases.

We are currently facing rapid changes in the socio-technical environment, driven by the innovation of IT technologies led by artificial intelligence. As safety and health will swiftly enter the era of smart safety and health in response to the impact of new technologies, we ask for your utmost dedication to your workplace duties and self-development amid the waves of change. In 2024, we hope that everyone, inspired by the ascending energy of the blue dragon, plays a greater role in establishing industrial safety and health. Happy New Year!