Kim Dong-yeon: "1.5 Trillion Won National Disaster Communication Network Failed During Itaewon Tragedy... Safety Measures to Be Announced on the 10th"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is presiding over an emergency safety inspection meeting at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 9th to discuss measures following the Itaewon tragedy.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, stated that he will create and announce a proper system from the perspective of the residents to ensure that incidents threatening the lives and safety of residents, such as the Itaewon tragedy, never happen again.

On the 9th, Governor Kim held an "Emergency Safety Inspection Meeting" at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office with the First Deputy Governor, Deputy Governor for Economy, Fire and Disaster Headquarters Chief, Chief of Opportunity Gyeonggi, and heads of departments and bureaus in attendance, where he made these remarks.

Governor Kim first said, "The most fundamental duty of the state is to protect the lives of its citizens and ensure their safety. However, as seen in this tragedy, the government and public sector failed to fulfill their responsibilities, and I feel ashamed once again as a public official." He added, "I believe many mistakes were made in the three stages of prevention, response when an accident occurs, and recovery after the accident. Gyeonggi Province will take this tragedy as a lesson and strive to do its best in all three stages."

He continued, "While working with staff to develop countermeasures, I realized that it is necessary to break away from bureaucratic and civil servant mindsets," citing the national emergency disaster communication network as an example.

He pointed out, "The national emergency disaster communication network, into which 1.5 trillion won was invested, did not function during the Itaewon tragedy." Governor Kim believes that if the national emergency disaster communication network had worked properly, such a large-scale tragedy might have been prevented.

Furthermore, he said, "Yesterday, I tested the (national emergency disaster) communication network myself. There is a system where residents can request safety inspections, and I demonstrated it directly via mobile." He suggested, "Although the responsible staff are working hard, I hope we can go beyond thinking that we have done enough and create the system from the residents' perspective."

He emphasized again, "I hope we can contact more simply and quickly and respond faster, overcoming the civil servant mindset to solve problems." He stressed that building systems and manuals is not enough; they must function effectively at actual disaster sites to fulfill the responsibilities of public officials.

In the subsequent meeting, Governor Kim discussed response and institutional improvement measures to prevent recurrence of accidents, focusing on topics such as ▲strengthening safety management measures at crowded event venues ▲emergency safety inspections of multi-use facilities in the culture, sports, and tourism sectors ▲emergency inspections of illegal buildings ▲operation plans for Gyeonggi Province’s disaster medical response system ▲operation plans for the disaster psychological support system ▲and strengthening prevention of major industrial accidents at workplaces and industrial sites within the province.

Governor Kim will announce the safety measures prepared based on the meeting’s content to the residents of Gyeonggi Province at a press conference on the 10th.