Missing Elementary School Student in Juwangsan Found Dead... President Lee Says "We Must Pay More Attention to Prevent Tragic Accidents"

News of Discovery Announced After Cabinet Meeting Went Closed

President Lee Urges Cabinet Members to Prevent Recurrence

On May 12, President Lee Jaemyung instructed that all available resources be mobilized to search for the missing elementary school student in Juwangsan, Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang Province. During a meeting, news was delivered that the student had been found dead, and President Lee expressed his sorrow, urging cabinet members to devise measures to prevent a recurrence.

Yonhap News

In his opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting and Emergency Economic Inspection Meeting held at the Blue House that day, President Lee said, "A tragic incident has occurred. There is an elementary school student missing in Juwangsan, Cheongsong, North Gyeongsang Province," adding, "The search has been ongoing for three days, but it seems the student has not yet been found."

He continued, "As every minute and second counts, I ask that all available resources be mobilized for the search," emphasizing, "It is an important responsibility of the state to ensure that the missing child can promptly return to their family."

During the meeting, President Lee also checked the scale of personnel deployed for the search. He asked, "The police are mainly handling the search, correct?" and then instructed, "Do you know how many people have been mobilized? Find out how many are currently deployed."

President Lee mentioned the need to increase the number of search personnel, saying, "Although it may be more complicated and difficult to have 1,000 people searching in one day than 500 people over two days, it could be more efficient."

When he was briefed that 281 police officers and 28 firefighters had been deployed to the scene, President Lee responded, "That seems too few," and further instructed, "Mobilize as many as possible; Juwangsan is not that large. Make sure to search thoroughly."

However, after the meeting was switched to a closed session, breaking news was reported that the missing elementary school student in Juwangsan, for whom President Lee had previously ordered an all-out search, had been found dead. According to Chief Presidential Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jung, President Lee expressed his regret and asked cabinet members to be even more vigilant so that such tragic accidents do not occur again in the future.

According to authorities, on May 10, an elementary school student who had gone hiking alone in Juwangsan National Park, Cheongsong-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, after visiting with family, was found dead two days after the incident. On May 12, about 350 police and firefighters, along with helicopters, drones, and rescue dogs, were deployed for the third consecutive day, focusing their search efforts on the approximately 2.3-kilometer trail stretching from Giamgyo to Jubong (elevation 720.6 meters), as well as surrounding trails and slopes.

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