Government Responds to 'Jjamtong Jamboree' Controversy: "Deploying 10 More Air Conditioners"

Emergency Briefing by Lee Gi-soon, Vice Minister of Gender Equality and Family

The government announced that it is "ensuring all processes comply with youth safety standards" regarding the '2023 Saemangeum 25th World Scout Jamboree' (Jamboree), which is taking place amid the heatwave. Along with this, additional measures were announced in response to the surge in heat-related illnesses.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, Lee Gi-soon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, is giving a briefing at the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree Press Center in Buan-gun, Jeonbuk. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Gi-soon, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated at an emergency briefing on the 3rd, "The World Jamboree is being conducted in compliance with the World Organization's guidelines."

The Vice Minister explained the preparations, saying, "At 2 p.m. today, a review meeting was held chaired by the Chief of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, and at 5 p.m., another review meeting is scheduled, chaired by the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family. We are discussing all processes related to the heatwave warning and ensuring that everything aligns with youth safety standards."

This year's World Jamboree, held at the Saemangeum Jamboree site in Buan County, Jeollabuk-do, is a large-scale international event with approximately 43,000 youth scouts and leaders from 158 countries participating until the 12th. The Ministers of Gender Equality and Family, Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Interior and Safety serve as joint organizing committee chairs, and Kim Kwan-young, Governor of Jeollabuk-do, is the executive committee chair.

Currently, the Saemangeum area in Buan County, Jeollabuk-do, where the World Jamboree is underway, is experiencing a heatwave with daytime temperatures reaching up to 35 degrees Celsius. Regarding this, Vice Minister Lee said, "We are sharing weather conditions with all participating organizations and making detailed decisions on activities based on meteorological data."

Accordingly, the Jamboree joint organizing committee plans to reinforce cooling systems by adding two air conditioners to each of the five Jamboree clinic facilities. Five blood donation vehicles, each capable of accommodating up to 10 people for heat illness rest, will be deployed, and up to 150 additional beds will be installed in the Saemangeum Hall auditorium within the Youth Leader Center to increase patient capacity. Emergency patients will be transported using six doctor helicopters to the regional emergency medical centers at Jeonbuk National University and Wonkwang University. Medical personnel will be supplemented with 30 military doctors and 60 nurses.

Hygiene issues such as restrooms and showers will also be strengthened. To enhance restroom cleanliness, 240 additional cleaning staff will be deployed to clean every hour. Pest control will also be intensified to eliminate mosquitoes, flies, and other pests.

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