Presidential Office: "Doing Our Best for a Successful Jamboree Conclusion... Yoon to Proceed with Vacation as Scheduled"

Regarding Responsibility for Jamboree, "Government Focuses Solely on Full-Scale Response"

The Presidential Office stated on the 6th that regarding the responsibility debate arising over the inadequate preparations for the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree, "Such issues may be raised by the political sphere and the media, but the government intends to focus solely on an all-out response."

A Presidential Office official responded to reporters who asked in the afternoon, "Will there be a subsequent investigation into the inadequate response or an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection?" by saying, "Right now, the most important thing is to successfully conclude the Jamboree scheduled until the 12th in cooperation with local governments, companies, and the public as our government has stated, and we intend to focus on that."

Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, said at a briefing held at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "So far, all 17 provinces and cities have presented 90 off-site cultural activity programs," adding, "The government plans to discuss with the organizing committee to survey the needs of scout groups from each country and match them accordingly."

Furthermore, "In response to the government's efforts, local governments, public institutions, especially companies, and our citizens have donated in various forms, which has been a great help," he said, reporting that local governments including Seoul, Daegu, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, Jeonnam, and Gyeongnam are providing supplies such as bottled water, ice, ambulances, disaster recovery buses, and fans, as well as dispatching paramedics.

The spokesperson added, "Companies have sponsored countless supplies, including 1.48 million bottles of water, 50,000 tons of ice, 280,000 ice creams, and 240,000 breads."

President Yoon Suk-yeol issued public orders four times as concerns arose over the shortage of supplies such as shade tents and bottled water and the poor medical environment amid an increase in heat-related and skin disease patients at the Jamboree.

On the morning of the same day, President Yoon received a report on the situation at the World Jamboree site from Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, instructing them to "thoroughly manage hygiene in the heat and pay special attention to preventing food poisoning and other illnesses."

President Yoon also requested through phone calls with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Foreign Minister Park Jin, "Please carefully ensure that British and American scout students staying in Seoul and Pyeongtaek, respectively, can safely and beneficially participate in off-site cultural experiences."

Regarding speculation that President Yoon's vacation might be interrupted, the Presidential Office stated that this is unfounded. An official said, "It is difficult to understand why such stories are circulating," and added, "President Yoon will follow through with his vacation schedule as planned."

He continued, "The official announcement of a one-week vacation period was intended to send a message to the public service that even if the full week is not taken off, it is designated as a vacation period," explaining, "We encouraged public officials to take vacations to help boost domestic consumption and revitalize the local economy."

In response to criticism that President Yoon's focus on responding to issues such as the Jamboree has resulted in less progress on the original goals of boosting domestic consumption and revitalizing livelihoods, he said, "When scheduling, things do not always go as planned. This is true in daily life and during vacations as well," adding, "During a visit to the market in Geoje, the President had extensive conversations with merchants, and I believe the message and much of President Yoon's thoughts were conveyed."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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