Governor Kim Dong-yeon: "Disaster Safety Communication Network Not Functioning Properly Inside the Provincial Office"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is presiding over an emergency safety inspection meeting on the 9th.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, pointed out the lack of systemic response to social disasters, stating that the 'Disaster Safety Communication Network,' built with an investment of 1.5 trillion won, is not functioning properly inside the Gyeonggi Provincial Government building.

The Disaster Safety Communication Network is a nationwide unified communication network that allows 333 disaster-related organizations, including police, fire departments, military, local governments, and medical institutions, to communicate together. Using radios connected to this network, police, fire, and local government personnel dispatched to the scene can simultaneously communicate via voice and video calls to coordinate rescue and accident management.

On the 9th, Governor Kim presided over an emergency safety inspection meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and expressed concern, saying, "Some parts of the Disaster Safety Communication Network are in place and functioning, but some are designed with our suppliers in mind rather than the needs of the residents. Large-scale accidents can occur due to such small gaps."

He continued, "There is a system where residents can request safety inspections, and I tried testing it once on my mobile phone. Although the staff are working hard to build and manage it well, I hope it is developed from the residents' perspective, going beyond the idea that 'we have done all we need to do,'" urging for improvements.

Furthermore, Governor Kim stated, "We responded relatively efficiently to natural disasters such as recent heavy rains and typhoons, but I felt that systemic responses to social disasters were somewhat lacking. We will promptly inform residents in detail about short-term measures we can take on this issue, possibly as early as tomorrow."

He especially suggested, "In the mid-term, I hope fundamental measures will be established. Let’s create and operate a system to handle incidents that no one has paid attention to but can cause enormous disasters once they occur."