The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) held the International Seminar on Occupational Safety and Health Management for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on July 1st at KINTEX International and Trade Center in Goyang, South Korea. The seminar featured four speakers, including Li-Ying Hsu, a director of the Planning Division from Taiwan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Taiwan-OSHA), who was invited to share Taiwan's experiences. In addition, Alan Stevens, Head of Strategy Engagement at the UK’s Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), Sabastian Tan, Director of the Occupational Safety and Health Division at Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and In Sung Kim, Director of Occupational Safety Bureau at KOSHA were also invited to introduce strategies and practices which their respective countries use to help SMEs improve their safety and health management capabilities.

All speakers noted that SMEs make up a significant proportion of businesses overall, and governments must provide diverse, accessible support measures and economic incentives. Additionally, with the rapidly changing demographics, the rise of the gig economy, shifts in labor relations, climate change, mental health issues, and technological advancements, each country must adopt strategies tailored to the specific challenges faced by different sectors of SMEs. Taiwan-OSHA is committed to promoting international exchanges in occupational safety and health to continuously improve its measures by learning from other countries' experiences. Taiwan-OSHA expressed gratitude to KOSHA for the invitation and will continue to collaborate and exchange expertise with occupational safety and health experts from both public and private sectors worldwide.