Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun: "Gwangju's Response, Including Social Distancing Enhancement, Is Swift and Appropriate"

Presiding Over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting on COVID-19 in Gwangju

Mayor Lee Yong-seop Emphasizes "Preventing Spread by Adhering to Quarantine Rules"

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun is presiding over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 response on the morning of the 3rd at the Disaster Countermeasures Conference Room of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall, attended by Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, and heads of related organizations. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on COVID-19 response held on the morning of the 3rd at the Disaster Countermeasures Conference Room of Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall, reviewing the recent COVID-19 spread situation and discussing countermeasures.

Prime Minister Chung said, “COVID-19, which had attacked the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, is now showing signs of spreading through the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong region, and has reached Gwangju,” adding, “The government will spare no effort in providing possible support such as securing hospital beds and medical personnel.”

The Prime Minister evaluated, “Over 50 confirmed cases have occurred in Gwangju, which had been recognized as a COVID-19 clean area, within just a few days,” and said, “However, in response to the increase in confirmed cases, Gwangju quickly raised social distancing to level 2 and promptly banned all indoor events with more than 50 people and outdoor events with more than 100 people. This was a swift and appropriate measure.”

He continued, “To prevent further spread, please refrain from visiting places vulnerable to infection and strictly follow personal quarantine rules,” emphasizing, “I believe the citizens of Gwangju will wisely overcome this critical moment and create a model case of crisis management.”

Prime Minister Chung urged, “I hope all institutions and organizations in the Gwangju area will become one team and actively respond to COVID-19,” promising, “The government will actively support this.”

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo announced that by utilizing the regional bed joint response system, available beds within the Honam region will be prioritized for activation, providing a total of 41 beds including 20 beds in Jeonnam Province and 21 beds in Jeonbuk Province.

He also stated that additional personnel needs such as doctors and nurses will be immediately supported upon submission to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, and that 5 public health doctors will be dispatched to Jeonnam and 2 to Jeonbuk.

Additionally, 3,000 masks, 500 protective suits, and 500 face shields requested by infectious disease dedicated hospitals will be supplied, and immediate support will be provided upon future requests for supplies.

Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, expressed concern, saying, “The cumulative confirmed cases in Gwangju total 84, which is not a large number, but 51 cases have been confirmed in the past six days, with very diverse infection routes, and some confirmed cases have unknown infection routes, raising serious concerns about community spread,” adding, “Especially since there are many elderly people and those with underlying diseases, this is very worrisome.”

He continued, “Through consultations with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, we are making every effort including adjusting social distancing to level 2,” and said, “While the meticulous and seamless measures by quarantine authorities are important, each citizen must have a sense of crisis and comply with preventive rules such as wearing masks. We will do our best to block additional local infection spread over the weekend.”

Meanwhile, before the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, Mayor Lee met separately with Prime Minister Chung to propose regional issues including the establishment of Gwangju Medical Center, government-led promotion of military airport relocation, and support for creating an artificial intelligence pilot city.

The mayor stated, “Among all cities and provinces nationwide, only Gwangju and Ulsan lack a local medical center. To efficiently and promptly respond to new infectious diseases like COVID-19 and disaster and emergency situations and protect citizens’ lives and safety, establishing a public safety net is urgent,” and requested, “Please exclude local medical centers from the preliminary feasibility study target so that they can be promptly promoted.”

He also said, “The current Special Act on Military Airport Relocation places responsibility for relocation on local governments, but since military airports are national facilities, the Ministry of National Defense should take an active and leading role and responsibility,” and requested, “I ask for active support at the Prime Minister’s Office level for the passage of the amendment to the ‘Special Act on Military Airport Relocation and Support’ within this year so that the Ministry of National Defense can take responsible roles in military airport relocation.”

Furthermore, Mayor Lee proposed support of 4 billion KRW for the service project to create the “Republic of Korea’s first artificial intelligence pilot city.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.