Prime Minister Chung Hong-won said Tuesday he will create a committee meant to ensure accidents that threaten people's lives do not recur, the latest in a series of efforts to make South Korea a safer country.



The committee, which is to include government officials and civilian experts, will be tasked with carrying out agenda to remodel the country from square one.



The case for radical reform has gained urgency since the sinking of a ferry in April that left more than 300 people dead or missing.



Chung admitted challenges in remodeling the country from the ground up, but said he will come up with a blue print to make South Korea a safer country by February.



"I will strengthen people's participation and create a monitoring system to ensure that safety culture firmly takes root in our society," Chung said in a news conference.



The ferry disaster triggered collective soul-searching in South Korea where safety is often overlooked by regulators in cozy relationships with their former colleagues in the private sector. (Yonhap)