Yoon: "Heartbroken and distressed... Mobilizing all resources for swift rescue"

Yoon Holds Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting Immediately After Overseas Trip, Orders Review of 'Special Disaster Areas'
Reiterates Criticism of Inadequate Pre-Control, Emphasizes "Disaster Response Basic Principles Must Be Followed"

President Yoon Suk-yeol returned home on the 17th after his visits to Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, and presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, instructing to "mobilize all policy measures to swiftly implement follow-up actions." President Yoon also urged a rapid rescue effort, mentioning the total mobilization of all available resources, including the military and troops.

Arriving at Seongnam Airport around 5 a.m. on the same day aboard Air Force One, the presidential aircraft, President Yoon immediately chaired an emergency meeting regarding the heavy rain response. Following a full assembly of senior secretaries and key aides from the Presidential Office, President Yoon also presided over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting to urgently review the status of flood damage and search and rescue operations.

President Yoon Seok-yeol, returning from a 6-night, 8-day tour of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, is presiding over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on heavy rain response at the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 17th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At this meeting, President Yoon expressed, "I cannot contain my grief and sorrow," and conveyed, "I pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in this heavy rain and offer my condolences to the bereaved families."

With nationwide damage spreading, he emphasized swift response. President Yoon stated, "We must recognize the current situation with utmost seriousness and mobilize all available resources, including the military and troops," adding, "Please make every effort on the ground to ensure that rescue operations proceed swiftly."

He also pointed out that measures such as prior control were not properly implemented. President Yoon remarked, "Looking at the areas where casualties occurred, it appears that the situation worsened due to inadequate management of high-risk areas such as landslide-prone zones," and added, "We have repeatedly emphasized since last year the need for entry control to dangerous areas and preemptive evacuation from such zones, but if the basic principles of disaster response are not observed on site, it will be difficult to ensure the safety of the people." He further called for government-level responses such as the declaration of special disaster zones. President Yoon urged, "Recovery work and support for disaster damage must also be carried out promptly, and please mobilize all policy measures, including the declaration of special disaster zones, to swiftly implement follow-up actions."

Meanwhile, regarding the expansion of damage caused by the concentrated heavy rain in the country, President Yoon conducted several video conferences during his trip and the visit to Ukraine to check the damage situation and instruct countermeasure preparations. President Yoon had previously asked Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to "take a somewhat excessive but proactive approach in disaster situations" and requested the establishment of a government-wide response plan.

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