Safety managers from SK hynix, Samsung Heavy Industries flock to KCC booth at Korea's largest workplace safety expo

"Can safety be improved any further?"

A safety manager from a major conglomerate stopped in front of a sample of fluorescent pink paint. Nearby, a photoluminescent coating that glows in the dark drew a steady stream of curious onlookers. Korea's largest workplace safety exhibition, the International Korea Safety & Health Show (KISS 2026), opened Thursday at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, with more than 300 companies taking part. Among all the booths on the floor, the one drawing the most foot traffic was KCC's. The paint maker was pitching 'color' as a practical solution to industrial safety — one that can raise safety performance without heavy investment.

Safety officers from SK hynix, Samsung Heavy Industries, HD Hyundai affiliates, Hyosung Chemical, Korea Railroad and SH Corporation were among those who visited the booth, representing manufacturers, construction firms and public institutions. SK hynix showed particular interest in improving safety conditions inside its factories as semiconductor plant expansions continue. When this reporter visited, safety managers from Kwangdong Pharmaceutical were also at the booth, listening to product explanations. With the Serious Accidents Punishment Act now in force, accident prevention has become a core management priority for companies. Basic safety design has become a given, and interest is growing in design solutions that make hazards and safety devices immediately visible.

The centerpiece of KCC's exhibition was what the company calls "safety environment design" — a concept that uses color and spatial design to help workers intuitively recognize hazards. The approach bundles functional safety coatings, safety signage and evacuation guidance systems into a single integrated solution.

The product that drew the most attention was KCC's neon-color paint, a high-visibility fluorescent coating designed for walkways, hazard zones and safety railings inside factories. Its strong visibility from a distance suits environments where heavy structures move overhead — a common condition on factory floors and construction sites where a worker's delayed reaction to approaching equipment can trigger a serious accident.

"After Hyundai Heavy Industries applied neon colors to crane hooks and equipment, worker visibility improved significantly," said Hwang Sang-yun, a principal researcher at KCC's Color Design Center.

Another crowd favorite was "Lumisafe," KCC's photoluminescent paint. It looks like ordinary paint under normal lighting but absorbs light and emits a glow when surroundings go dark — during a power outage, for instance. KCC markets the product as a "golden-hour paint." The current formulation sustains its glow for about 30 minutes.

"It was developed so that evacuation routes remain easy to find even when emergency lights go out during a blackout," Hwang said. "The advantage is that it requires no separate electrical connection."

The paint has already been applied at the main branch parking garage of Shinsegae department store, a Seoul Metropolitan Government tunnel safety design project and CJ CheilJedang's Busan factory. Following positive feedback from the Busan factory, the company is in talks to extend its use to logistics centers as well.

The Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency is also paying close attention to the trend. Choi Won-chang, a division chief at the agency who visited the exhibition, said color offers something safety training cannot. "Safety training takes a long time to become second nature, but color lets workers recognize danger the instant they see it," he said. "That immediate effect is the greatest advantage of safety design."

He added that factories need repainting every few years anyway. "If you simply add safety functions to the existing paint job, you can achieve a significant effect at relatively low cost," he said.

The agency is already working with KCC on a campaign to spread safety culture and is promoting the use of color-based industrial safety design. "Even something as simple as using color to separate pedestrian and forklift routes, or to mark emergency exits and fire extinguisher locations intuitively, can have a substantial accident-prevention effect," Choi added.

KCC also unveiled its painting automation robot, Smart Canvas, at the exhibition. The machine combines AI with an autonomous mobile robot to independently map a work space and carry out painting tasks. The company said it can paint nearly 10 times faster than conventional methods, supports night-shift operation and simultaneously improves worker safety and productivity.