On May 13, KAIST’s Safety and Security Team held the first commemoration of “Safety Day” at the KAIST Institute (KI) Building (E4) from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Safety Day was created as a reminder to KAIST of the explosion at a lab on May 13, 2003. Safety Day commemoration will be held every year to encourage safety among researchers and form a safe environment for research. Including KAIST President Sung Mo Kang, one hundred important figures from different departments of KAIST participated in the event.

The commemoration started with the announcement of the KAIST Safety & Health First Policy Statement by President Kang. The statement consisted of ten policies KAIST will enforce in its laboratories. The policies include prioritizing safety over anything, providing education on safety, and allowing amendments on the policy statement to meet the safety requirements for emerging technologies if necessary. The president continued by declaring the past year as a year without any accidents.

Merit awards were given to the people who worked on improving the research environment. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, followed by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was given the Safest Research Environment Award.

The prizes for the 7th Lab and Research Safety Contest - which went on from April 1 to April 30 - were given as well. Jong Su Bae, a master’s degree student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, won the Creative Campaign Slogan section with the phrase, “Ladies first when dating! Safety first during research!”

The grand prize for the Most Creative Poster section went to Hyun Chae Loh, an undergraduate student from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The poster contrasts two hands, one that is wearing a bandage and another a safety glove. Loh wanted to point out the importance of the safety glove since it not only provides protection against dangerous chemicals but also prevents slipping.

President Kang said, “KAIST will not hesitate to use its resources to reduce accidents.” The commemoration ended with the performance of Collaborative Research, a play on safety written and performed by Ibagutor, the KAIST drama club.