Yoon "Dedication Must Not Be Sacrificed"... Emphasizes Safety Assurance
Promises Active Consideration of Environmental Officials' Requests
President Yoon Suk-yeol met with environmental public officials on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 9th, to express his gratitude for their hard work. This schedule reflects President Yoon's intention to personally encourage those who cannot return home during the holiday and are diligently fulfilling their duties.
According to the presidential office, President Yoon had a rice cake soup breakfast with environmental public officials at a restaurant in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the same day. These officials quietly carry out essential tasks for society such as street cleaning and waste collection even during the holiday.
Upon arriving at the restaurant, the environmental public officials greeted President Yoon with "Happy New Year," and President Yoon responded warmly with a handshake and "Nice to see you" to each person.
President Yoon began the breakfast by congratulating an environmental public official who recently had a baby girl and another who succeeded in purchasing a home. He also inquired about the working conditions of the attendees, asking questions such as "What time does your work start?", "Are there any risks of traffic accidents during early morning hours?", and "Do you have proper breakfast?"
The attendee who recently had a baby said, "I benefited greatly from the special loan program for newborns," and added, "If such programs expand, I would like to have more children." Another attendee who recently moved to Gyeonggi-do expressed hope that "transport infrastructure will improve to reduce commuting time."
As the meal ended, President Yoon said, "I am very pleased to be here with you on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday," and added, "Thanks to all of you who come out early in the morning and work hard without a holiday, the people can live comfortably. I wanted to show my gratitude to you, so I arranged this gathering."
President Yoon emphasized, "The most important thing in the new year is your safety," and stated, "You are dedicating yourselves to society like this, but your 'dedication' must never turn into 'sacrifice' due to safety accidents."
He then asked Minister of Environment Han Hwa-jin and Dongjak-gu Mayor Park Il-ha, who were present, to "thoroughly ensure and strengthen the safety of environmental public officials without any gaps."
President Yoon Suk-yeol waves his hand to the public while greeting them for the Lunar New Year with the Presidential Office choir "Warm Hands" at Jeonghyeon Hall on the first floor of the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Before leaving the site after the meal, President Yoon told the attendees, "I did not come today just to see your faces, but to listen to your stories and understand what we need to do," reaffirming his commitment to quickly review and reflect on the issues raised during the breakfast.
The breakfast was attended by nine street cleaning environmental public officials from Dongjak-gu, along with Minister Han and Mayor Park. From the presidential office, Policy Chief Seong Tae-yoon and Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Jang Sang-yoon were present.
Since taking office, President Yoon has been meeting and encouraging workers, police officers, firefighters, soldiers, and other field public officials working during holiday periods, promising to improve their treatment.
During the 2022 Chuseok holiday, he visited the Air Defense Battalion under the Capital Defense Command, and during last year's Chuseok holiday, he visited the Korean Air cargo terminal at Incheon International Airport, Eulji Police Substation in Jung-gu, Seoul, Jungbu Fire Station, and the 25th Army Division.
A presidential office official explained that this breakfast was also arranged according to President Yoon's wish to offer a warm meal to environmental public officials who dedicate themselves in unseen parts of our society.
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