Yoon: "Cold Wave... Strengthen Safety and Care for Vulnerable Groups Including Elderly Living Alone"

President Yoon Suk-yeol said on the 17th, "Strengthen safety and care for vulnerable groups such as elderly people living alone in preparation for the cold wave."

On the same day, after receiving a report on the heavy snow and cold wave situation, President Yoon instructed, "Take proactive measures such as pre-deploying snow removal personnel and equipment to establish a readiness to respond immediately during snowfall," according to a written briefing by Kim Soo-kyung, spokesperson for the Presidential Office.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety activated Level 1 of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at 10 a.m. that day and raised the heavy snow crisis alert level from 'Interest' to 'Caution.' According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), as of 11 a.m. that day, a cold wave advisory was in effect nationwide. Temperatures dropped more than 10 degrees on average compared to the 16th. The coldest region nationwide was Daegwallyeong in Gangwon-do, recording -16.8 degrees Celsius. This was followed by Cheorwon (-15.3 degrees) and Paju in Gyeonggi-do (-15.2 degrees). Seoul also recorded -12.4 degrees Celsius, with ice not melting even during the daytime. On the 18th, most of the country is expected to remain below freezing (-4 to 4 degrees Celsius) even during the day.

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