A Study on Improving the Establishment System of COOP(Continuity Of Operation Plan) in Local Government Lim Eunsuk Advisor : Prof. Song Chang-Yeong, Ph.D. Department of Disaster Prevention Safety, Graduate School of Gwangju University Recent disasters...
A Study on Improving the Establishment System of COOP(Continuity Of Operation Plan) in Local Government Lim Eunsuk Advisor : Prof. Song Chang-Yeong, Ph.D. Department of Disaster Prevention Safety, Graduate School of Gwangju University Recent disasters have become larger, more diverse, and more complex. As concerns grow over the expansion of disaster damage, it has become essential for governments and local authorities to establish plans to prepare for situations in which their operations are suspended or administrative functions are degraded. When unpredictable disasters paralyze the core functions of local governments, the ripple effects can significantly impact the entire nation.Therefore, local governments, which are responsible for public functions, must secure COOP (Continuity of Operations Plan). COOP was introduced in the United States in 1995 to ensure functional continuity in government and public institutions.This refers to a system that allows the government and public institutions to maintain the continuity of their core functions in the event of a disaster.At this time, the core function of the local government means the safety and daily life of the residents. In addition, local governments must legally establish COOP to maintain these core functions. Accordingly, Article 25-4 of the ‘Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety’ stipulates that the heads of disaster management agencies, as well as the heads of administrative bodies that handle the affairs of the National Assembly, the Courts, the Constitutional Court, and the National Election Commission, shall establish and implement continuity of operations plans necessary to maintain their essential functions during disaster situations.When a local government has established a COOP, it can prevent the suspension of critical functions, minimize damage, and enable the rapid recovery of its core capabilities. COOP should be configured to minimize disruption of essential functions while meeting the safety needs of residents and the demand for administrative services. And to ensure effectiveness, all potential risk factors should be comprehensively reflected. The COOP should also take into account the characteristics of local governments in charge of integrated local administration and should be designed to suit specific regional conditions and environments. It also needs to increase both the effectiveness and reliability of the COOP. In order to systematically build COOP, the participation of all practitioners responsible for the core functions of the organization is essential. All participants should understand the concept of the COOP and derive their core functions through a task force (TF) meeting. They should also review key function identification, alternative personnel and facilities, alternative resources, stakeholder communication, education and training programs, etc. during the COOP planning phase. If core feature selection criteria, regional characteristics, vulnerabilities, risk assessments, and feedback mechanisms are not addressed properly, COOP can be significantly less effective. However, many municipalities are still struggling to develop COOP effectively due to a lack of sufficient understanding, lack of systematic operational guidelines, and lack of professional COOP management personnel. In most municipalities, disaster management departments are responsible for establishing COOP, but the process of selecting key functions and conducting Business Impact Analysis (BIA) requires considerable time. BIA requires extensive experience and a comprehensive understanding of all administrative tasks, and without sufficient departmental capacity, COOP plans can be insufficiently developed. In particular, it is difficult to identify key functions among thousands of local government administrative tasks. When individual departments of local governments perform BIA with their own subjective judgments, it is very difficult to identify the true core functions that residents actually need. Therefore, this study aims to propose improvement measures for the COOP development framework of local governments by addressing the issues and challenges that arise during the selection of core functions, enabling a more objective and systematic approach to COOP establishment. Keywords: Local Government, COOP(Continuity Of Operation Plan), BIA(Business Impact Analysis), Core Function