Dongdaemun-gu Implements Comprehensive Chuseok Measures to Withstand COVID-19

24-Hour Emergency Duty from the 29th to October 5th... Focus on 6 Areas Including COVID-19 Response, Safety, Daily Life Inconveniences, Price Stability, and Protection of Vulnerable Groups... 12 Teams, 321 People Monitoring the Region

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongdaemun-gu (Mayor You Deok-yeol) has established sector-specific measures in ▲safety ▲daily inconvenience ▲traffic ▲price stabilization ▲protection of vulnerable groups to ensure that residents can have a safe and comfortable Chuseok holiday, and is implementing a ‘Comprehensive Chuseok Holiday Plan.’

During the Chuseok holiday period, the district office’s comprehensive situation room will be converted into a control center, conducting 24-hour emergency duty for seven days from the 29th to the 5th of next month.

Centered on the comprehensive situation room, 321 personnel across 12 teams?including the COVID-19 response team, emergency quarantine task force, cleaning task force, emergency medical task force, and illegal parking crackdown team?will carefully monitor the area throughout the Chuseok holiday.

In the comprehensive situation room, in case of emergencies, all employees will respond swiftly under the leadership of each department head. They report daily at 4 p.m. via the district executive communication group (Naver Band) on the status of each sector’s task force and various incidents and accidents occurring during the holiday period.

Prevention of Safety Accidents

The district maintains the usual COVID-19 response system to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by monitoring self-quarantined individuals, preventing quarantine breaches, and establishing a rapid response system in case of confirmed cases.

Even during the holiday, the district responds to COVID-19 with a thorough system, including receiving COVID-19 related reports, monitoring and managing self-quarantined individuals, sending disaster safety text messages in case of confirmed cases, and maintaining cooperation with related organizations.

The COVID-19 screening clinic operating in the rear yard on the first floor of the district office will operate for five days from the 30th to the 4th of next month, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., providing COVID-19 screening, testing, and consultation.

To prevent safety accidents that may occur during the holiday and to protect residents from damage caused by various incidents, accidents, and natural disasters, intensive safety inspections are being conducted on vulnerable facilities and construction sites.

They thoroughly inspect 26 construction sites including redevelopment sites in Yongdu-dong and Jeonnong-dong, 62 road facilities, and 9 disaster-vulnerable facilities for road subsidence caused by construction and damage to adjacent buildings.

The district also conducts visits to public hygiene businesses to prevent fires and safety accidents and to check social distancing measures to prevent COVID-19 spread. For lodging and bath businesses, they focus on verifying compliance with core COVID-19 quarantine rules, electronic entry log implementation, hygiene management standards, evacuation routes such as emergency stairs and doors, and the presence of fire extinguishing equipment.

Resolution of Daily Inconveniences

The district provides administrative support to ensure essential services such as holiday medical institutions, pharmacies, and waste disposal operate smoothly during the Chuseok holiday.

The district health center’s medical department and the comprehensive situation room will operate a day-and-night emergency medical response center from the 30th to the 4th of next month. They provide information on emergency rooms, medical institutions, and pharmacies available during the holiday and handle complaints related to emergency medical accidents.

Four emergency medical institution emergency rooms (Kyung Hee University Hospital, Samyook Seoul Hospital, Seoul Seongsim Hospital, Seoul Eastern Hospital) will operate continuously during the holiday, and 14 local clinics and hospitals will have on-duty staff according to the day of the week.

During the holiday, 403 cleaning task force workers will crack down on illegal dumping and promptly collect various household wastes mainly in residential areas. They maintain a constant emergency contact system and strengthen patrols to prevent complaints caused by waste accumulation.

Traffic and Price Stabilization Measures

The district comprehensive situation room will also provide information on public transportation with extended operating hours. Additionally, they plan to intensively crack down on taxi refusals and illegal parking around Cheongnyangni Station, which is crowded with returning holiday travelers, to prevent inconvenience to residents.

To reduce residents’ shopping burdens, the district’s Economic Promotion Division operates a price control situation room and a special inspection team. Starting with price surveys of Chuseok seasonal items such as apples, pears, eggs, chestnuts, and napa cabbage, they conduct inspections of personal service fee businesses, price labeling compliance, and illegal trade practices including collusion, providing price information on the district website.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 and promote local agricultural product consumption, an untact direct transaction market will be opened in cooperation with sister cities, and Chuseok holiday events will be held at each traditional market to ease the holiday burden.

Furthermore, the district supports low-income groups through donations and delivery of hope-sharing goods, and all departments are thoroughly preparing for Chuseok by organizing street vendor maintenance around Cheongnyangni Station, special service inspections, and audits to establish public service discipline.

Mayor You Deok-yeol of Dongdaemun-gu said, “Due to COVID-19, the holiday atmosphere has changed, and this year’s Chuseok is encouraged to be spent sharing warm words rather than meeting beloved family in hometowns directly,” adding, “We will carefully oversee areas closely related to daily life such as COVID-19 prevention, safety, daily convenience, traffic, and price stabilization so that all residents can have a safe and enjoyable holiday.”