President Moon Visits Heavy Rain Damage Sites on a 767km KTX Meeting Room Journey

Inspection of Heavy Rain Damage Sites in Yeongnam, Honam, and Chungcheong... Only Minimal Personnel Conducted Due to COVID-19 Issues, Excluding Ministers and Chiefs

[Asia Economy reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Son Seon-hee] "It is unusual to visit Yeongnam, Honam, and Chungcheong all in one day. We estimated the travel distance and found that today alone, 767 km will be traveled." Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, said this on the 12th regarding President Moon Jae-in's visit to the heavy rain damage sites.

On that day, President Moon used a special KTX train to visit the heavy rain damage sites. Officials from the Blue House and relevant government ministries accompanied him, and an impromptu meeting room was set up on the KTX. Due to concerns related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the number of participants was minimized, but the president's message was clear.

He ordered to expedite the declaration of special disaster zones to support the heavy rain damage and also instructed to consider designating areas not only at the city and county level but also at the eup, myeon, and dong levels. President Moon said in the KTX meeting room, "Please do your best to ensure support by promptly designating special disaster zones. If it is not feasible to designate at the city or county level when selecting areas, consider detailed designation down to the eup, myeon, and dong levels."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Spokesperson Kang said, "The key point is that this visit to the heavy rain damage areas, including the return travel time, is a forced march of over 9 hours," adding, "Ministers at the senior level and above were excluded this time. It was a protocol-breaking schedule with only the minimum number of staff at the secretary level accompanying."

Spokesperson Kang added, "We formed a team with the minimum number of people. To save time and focus on the site visit, we received reports on the KTX and had boxed meals on the train."

During President Moon's visit to the damage site in Hadong, Gyeongnam Province, there was some commotion due to the issue of minimizing the number of participants. Members of the National Assembly and provincial councilors from the United Future Party protested that they could not participate in the presidential meeting, and the Blue House explained that the governor of Gyeongnam Province was also excluded to simplify the on-site personnel.

President Moon visited heavy rain damage areas such as Hwagae Market and met with Yoon Sang-gi, the mayor of Hadong County, village myeonjang and ijang (village heads), and the head of the merchants' association to offer consolation. President Moon said, "Hwagae Market is a symbol of Yeongnam and Honam and a place loved by the people, so it is unfortunate that it was damaged," adding, "It is a source of hope and encouragement that volunteers are providing their service."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim Jong-young, myeonjang of Hwagae-myeon, said, "Although we suffered such flooding damage, the entire community has united, and not only our province but all the county residents have played a volunteer role. For five days now, we have been fully mobilized for emergency restoration, and most of the damage has been managed."

Yoon Sang-gi, mayor of Hadong County, said, "There are three dams upstream of the Seomjin River. They released water simultaneously and only announced the release when the water was about to arrive. So, we could not even move goods and only evacuated people," adding, "Fortunately, Gyeongnam Province is carrying out a project to improve the Hwagae Stream. They invested 20 billion won, and we greatly benefited from that this time. I expressed my gratitude to the governor."

President Moon said, "I have seen a lot through TV reports, but coming here and seeing it directly, I vividly feel how severe the damage is and how deeply our merchants and residents must be distressed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon said, "When the president visits the site, there are many concerns. I always hesitate, worrying that I might unintentionally burden or hinder those who are working hard on the restoration. But the current situation seems very urgent," adding, "I came here hoping that it would comfort the residents here and help speed up administrative and financial support."

President Moon urged, "Hwagae Market is a symbol of Yeongnam-Honam harmony, and the entire nation feels very sorry for the damage it has suffered. The people are united, and even the central government is together. Let us believe this and do our best to return to normal life as quickly as possible."

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