The Nation's Largest 'Social Disaster Joint Drill' Resembling Real Combat to Be Held in Suwon on the 8th

Governor Kim Dong-yeon: "This is probably the first time in South Korea that such a large-scale drill has been conducted for a social disaster rather than a natural disaster."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is talking with training officials while participating in a joint social disaster drill held on the 8th at Lotte Mall Suwon Branch near Suwon Station. Photo by Gyeonggi Provincial Government

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province conducted a 'Joint Training of Gyeonggi Province Agencies for Social Disaster Preparedness' on the 8th at Lotte Mall Suwon, located at Suwon Station, in collaboration with 32 public and private organizations.

The joint training, planned to prevent a recurrence of the October 29 disaster, involved over 500 participants from 32 organizations including Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters, police, Korea Electric Power Corporation, and KT. A total of 85 pieces of equipment, including three helicopters, were also deployed.

Earlier, Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province announced a safety plan for residents on the 10th of last month, ten days after the October 29 disaster, which included conducting joint social disaster training.

This joint training holds special significance as it is the first exercise to put into action Governor Kim’s promise to ensure that the lives and safety of residents are never threatened.

The joint training proceeded in the order of 'report reception → situation assessment → situation dissemination → accident response → disaster site management and recovery.'

Regarding the detailed training content of the day, at 9 a.m., a crush accident occurred due to an escalator running in reverse on the second floor of Lotte Department Store Suwon branch, where people were descending to the first floor. Dozens of people were trapped in a single line on the escalator, which was less than 2 meters wide, with screams of "Help us" heard here and there. The fire rescue team, dispatched after receiving the report, arrived at the scene within about 10 minutes and began rescue operations. Particularly, dummies (training mannequins) were piled at the bottom of the escalator to simulate the difficult rescue situation caused by immobile fatalities.

The rescue team classified citizens by emergency and urgent status using red and yellow bands worn on their arms, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or transported them outside the department store. In a scenario involving multiple fatalities, rescue personnel secured movement paths and loudly requested additional rescue personnel, recreating the atmosphere of the October 29 disaster scene, drawing attention.

From around 9:20 a.m., training was also conducted where temporary walls collapsed during evacuation, burying citizens, and a traffic accident occurred between a large bus and a passenger car in a congested situation. The rescue team cut off the top of the passenger car to rescue the injured and broke bus windows to transport the injured.

The Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of the province announced that the training resulted in a total of 120 casualties, including 20 deaths and 100 injuries.

Kim Jae-hoon (20), a university student who played the role of an 'ambulatory evacuee' during the escalator accident scenario, said, "No matter how safely you prepare, accidents can happen anytime and anywhere, but training with a scenario that felt like a real scene made me realize a lot," sharing his thoughts on participating in the training.

Fire Lieutenant Bae Jun-young of the Disaster Response Division at Suwon Southern Fire Station, who played the role of a rescue team member, said, "Although I have participated in many trainings as a rescuer, this was the first time multiple agencies gathered and moved busily as if it were a real situation," adding, "It shouldn’t happen, but if another disaster occurs, this will be a valuable experience."

Governor Kim Dong-yeon inspected the site during the training, directing rescue operations via radio and demonstrating the disaster safety communication network, overseeing the overall training situation.

In a debriefing after the training, Governor Kim said, "I insisted from the start that today’s social disaster training be conducted as if it were a real situation, and I participated thinking it was not training but an actual event," adding, "I could not help but think of the October 29 disaster. It was truly horrific, and I feel deeply sorry and regretful about the government and public institutions’ insufficient prevention and initial response."

He continued, "This is probably the first time in South Korea that a large-scale social disaster, not a natural disaster, has been trained for in this way," emphasizing, "First and foremost, prevention is important. To prevent such incidents, I, along with the provincial government and all related agencies, will make every effort."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is listening to an explanation about the disaster response bag from a training official during the 'Joint Social Disaster Drill' held at Lotte Mall Suwon Branch near Suwon Station on the 8th. Photo by Gyeonggi Provincial Government

He added, "Nevertheless, if such an incident occurs, we will respond swiftly through close cooperation among related agencies as in today’s training, minimize damage, and provide the utmost care in treatment and consolation to the injured and their families."

He also urged, "Social disasters can happen anywhere?at subway stations or schools where our children attend. Considering this, please do your best to prevent and respond to such incidents."

The province plans to regularly conduct joint training with related agencies, assuming various types of social disaster scenarios in the future.

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