Governor Kim Youngrok: "No Such Thing as Overpreparation for Disaster Response"

Presiding Over Meeting on Monsoon and Extreme Rainfall Preparedness
Reviewing Status and Countermeasures Across All Sectors
Emphasizing the Principle of Taking Action First, Reporting Later
Calling for Swift and Effective Responses

Jeonnam Governor Kim Youngrok is presiding over the "Summer Monsoon and Extreme Rainfall Preparedness Inspection Meeting" at the Provincial Government Disaster Control Room on the morning of the 20th. Provided by Jeonnam Province

Jeonnam Governor Kim Youngrok presided over a meeting on summer monsoon and extreme rainfall preparedness at the Provincial Government Disaster Control Room on the 20th, emphasizing the importance of "thorough preemptive measures that may even seem excessive" as the answer to disaster preparedness. He stressed the need for swift and effective on-site responses, such as taking action first and reporting later.

According to Jeonnam Province, from this day, the monsoon front is expected to begin affecting the southern regions, with heavy rain forecasted to concentrate on Jeju Island and the southern coast from June 22 to June 24, and to expand nationwide on June 25. In particular, there is an outlook for frequent, localized torrential downpours that are narrow in scope and tend to stall in certain areas.

With the full-scale monsoon season and rapidly changing weather conditions, Jeonnam Province has established and is operating an on-site, resident-focused response system. The province is also strengthening its cooperative framework centered on a water management council to minimize damage during reservoir and dam discharges.

During the meeting, participants reviewed the status and countermeasures for each area, including evacuation from landslide-prone zones, inspections of agricultural and livestock facilities such as rice paddies and greenhouses, construction sites during the rainy season, offshore cage aquaculture facilities, agricultural reservoirs, and the control of camper access in regions expected to experience heavy rainfall.

Governor Kim strongly urged: ▲thorough preparedness that may seem excessive, keeping the worst-case scenario in mind; ▲assignment of public officials in advance to disaster-prone areas with potential for casualties; ▲strict adherence to the principle of taking action first and reporting later, even if it involves budget expenditures; ▲principled implementation of preemptive evacuations without exception during hazardous weather; and ▲realization of responsible administration together with residents by utilizing Jeonnam-style village safety keepers and local autonomous disaster prevention teams.

He particularly reiterated that "as abnormal weather leads to greater damage and increased intensity and frequency, every process from pre-inspection to actual disaster response must be handled as proactively as possible, even to the point of seeming excessive."

He added, "The most important thing is to ensure that there are no casualties under any circumstances. Let us thoroughly maintain emergency duty, strengthen public guidance to refrain from going out during heavy rain, and focus all administrative resources on disaster response with residents and thorough on-site measures to achieve real damage prevention."

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