Jeon Hae-cheol Visits Gangwon 'Wonju-si Screening Clinic'... "Preparing Additional Measures Reflecting On-Site Difficulties"

Encouraging Medical Staff Struggling with Heatwave
First Visit to National Forensic Service Designated as 'Forensic Science Technology Specialized Training Institute'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 30th, Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visited Wonju City, Gangwon Province, and consecutively visited the COVID-19 response site, ‘Wonju City Screening Clinic,’ and the ‘National Forensic Service,’ designated as a specialized training institution for forensic technology, to inspect all operational situations on site and encourage the personnel involved.

First, Minister Jeon visited the ‘Wonju City Screening Clinic,’ which is facing difficulties in quarantine as the spread of COVID-19 continues nationwide and the metropolitan area and Gangwon Province are adjacent. Wonju City has the highest number of confirmed cases within Gangwon Province due to its large floating population traveling to other regions and its proximity to the metropolitan area. Accordingly, Wonju City proactively raised social distancing to Level 3 from July 23 and is responding to the crisis by operating specialized screening clinics for each test subject and increasing related personnel.

Minister Jeon said, "I understand that there are significant hardships on site, such as the surge in the number of testees and medical staff suffering from exhaustion due to the ongoing heatwave," and added, "The government is supporting various heatwave measures, including installing cooling rest areas for medical staff, providing summer personal protective equipment such as cooling vests, and supplying heatwave prevention items. We will continue to actively reflect the difficulties on site and prepare additional necessary measures."

After inspecting the Wonju City Screening Clinic, Minister Jeon visited the ‘National Forensic Service,’ the country’s top appraisal institution designated as a specialized training institution for forensic technology on July 21, for the first time since his inauguration. The National Forensic Service was established in 1955 as an agency under the Ministry of the Interior with the purpose of crime investigation, appraisal and interpretation necessary for incidents and accidents, and research and development of scientific crime investigation techniques.

This site visit was arranged to examine the appraisal equipment of the National Forensic Service, which contributes to initial investigations that are a race against time by developing high-quality appraisal techniques in response to increasingly sophisticated and large-scale crimes and rapidly changing society, and to listen to voices from the field. In particular, the safety of facilities and equipment related to autopsies of suspected deaths related to COVID-19 vaccination was intensively inspected.

Minister Jeon congratulated the National Forensic Service on being designated as a ‘specialized training institution for forensic technology’ and urged them to continue focusing their capabilities on protecting the public and advancing scientific investigation. He also expressed gratitude to the staff who promptly conducted cause identification and appraisal work at the scene during recent major incidents and accidents and pledged to spare no support so that the National Forensic Service can grow into the world’s best institution beyond Korea.

At a meeting with the National Forensic Service staff, Minister Jeon said, “I feel reassured after visiting the site directly, checking the forensic appraisal site, and meeting all of you,” and added, “As the National Forensic Service’s slogan says, ‘The power of science that reveals the truth,’ I hope you will focus your capabilities on protecting the public from accidents and crimes and on the development of the scientific investigation system.”

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