Yoon: "Accident and Disaster Response Must Be Thorough and Meticulous" (Comprehensive)

-President Yoon Orders "Top Priority is Accident Management" at Cabinet Meeting, Calls for Prompt Follow-up Actions
-Next Week, National Safety System Inspection Meeting... Discussing Causes and Improvement Plans with Relevant Ministries and Private Experts

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Cabinet members observe a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Itaewon tragedy during the Cabinet meeting held on the 1st at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. /

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 1st stated, "Accident and disaster response must be thorough and meticulous," urging the cabinet to take heavy responsibility and conduct careful inspections. President Yoon plans to preside over a 'National Safety System Inspection Meeting' with relevant ministers and experts after the national mourning period.

In his remarks at the Cabinet meeting that day, President Yoon said, "Routine responses or formal inspections cannot fully protect the lives and safety of the people."

This directive from President Yoon comes from the recognition that fundamental preventive measures are needed as similar accidents have occurred recently. At the meeting, President Yoon specifically mentioned safety accidents such as the outlet underground parking lot fire, zinc mine burial accident, and emergency aircraft landing.

Regarding the Itaewon tragedy, President Yoon particularly pointed out, "There is a lack of systematic research and development on crowd management," and instructed technological and institutional improvements. Referring to so-called 'crowd management,' he emphasized, "The Itaewon tragedy clearly demonstrated the importance of managing and controlling crowd accidents through crowd management. We must actively utilize advanced digital capabilities such as drones to develop crowd management technology and also improve institutional measures."

He also ordered the establishment of crowd management safety measures for stadiums and concert halls where crowds gather. President Yoon stated, "It does not matter whether there is an event organizer or not; the safety of the people is important, and thorough measures must be prepared."

President Yoon said, "The top priority of state affairs is to handle this accident," and urged, "Related agencies should think of this as if it were their own family, take special care of each individual, and carefully support the bereaved families." He also expressed his sorrow, saying, "Most of the victims are young people like sons and daughters, which makes my heart ache and my sadness unbearable."

Next week, President Yoon will also preside over the 'National Safety System Inspection Meeting' with relevant ministers and experts. According to the Presidential Office, this meeting is expected to analyze the causes of the tragedy with ministers from related ministries such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and private experts, and discuss institutional improvements suitable for domestic circumstances based on foreign cases. It is also expected to provide time to build social consensus on the extent to which the police and local governments can control freely gathered crowds.

At the Cabinet meeting that day, related ministries also separately reported on the accident response. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety reported on the 'Itaewon accident response progress,' the Ministry of Health and Welfare on 'medical, psychological, and funeral support progress,' the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 'support measures for foreign victims,' and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on 'accident-related response status.' President Yoon said, "During the national mourning period, all citizens and all sectors of society have canceled major schedules and refrained from events, uniting as one," and expressed gratitude, "I thank the citizens, firefighters, police officers, and medical staff who worked hard on-site for rescue, transport, and CPR."