Seogwipo Coast Guard Holds Online Launch Ceremony for Civilian Drone Search Team

Establishment of a Public-Private Cooperative Response System for Coastal Accidents

Dogibeom, Chief of Seogwipo Maritime Police Station, is attending the inauguration ceremony of the civilian drone search team held online on the 14th. (Photo by Seogwipo Maritime Police Station)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] Seogwipo Maritime Police Station announced on the 14th that it will start operating a civilian drone search team to strengthen joint maritime rescue capabilities between the public and private sectors.

According to Seogwipo Maritime Police Station, the civilian drone search team will begin full-scale activities starting with an online inauguration ceremony on the 14th.

At the inauguration ceremony, Seogwipo Maritime Police Chief Do Gi-beom, related officials, and 22 selected civilian drone search team members (19 for surface search, 3 for underwater search) held the ceremony via a non-face-to-face video conferencing platform. Following this, they conducted training on drone search methods in case of coastal accidents and held a meeting to discuss public-private cooperation measures for coastal safety.

Earlier, Seogwipo Maritime Police recruited drone search team members from the public from the 3rd to the 31st of last month, requiring possession of a qualification certificate compatible with personally owned drones and whether a camera was attached.

Seogwipo Maritime Police plans to deploy the civilian drone search team for activities such as searching for missing persons in coastal accidents, identifying terrain and objects that are difficult to access, and proactive preventive patrols during high-risk periods such as typhoon approaches.

A Seogwipo Maritime Police Station official said, “With the summer season, when coastal accidents rapidly increase, we expect to contribute to protecting the lives and safety of the public by strengthening preventive patrols using drones targeting swimmers and rock fishermen.”