Chief Secretary Jeong Jinseok Chairs Senior Meeting
Discussion on Strengthening Future Wildfire Response Capabilities
Yoon Urges "Mobilize All Government Resources" via Facebook
On the 23rd, the Presidential Office held a senior meeting to monitor the response situation regarding the spread of wildfire damage across the country and discussed plans to strengthen future wildfire response capabilities.
In a press release that afternoon, the Presidential Office stated, "At the senior meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Jeong Jin-seok, we received reports on the firefighting response situation following the nationwide spread of wildfires from the National Situation Room and related secretariat offices, and focused on discussing measures to ensure early containment."
A Presidential Office official said, "Immediately after the fire, the Presidential Office has been continuously monitoring the nationwide wildfire response situation centered on the National Situation Room," adding, "Since strong winds are expected tomorrow, we agreed that all-out efforts should be concentrated on extinguishing the main fires before sunset today, and that thorough preparations must be made for nighttime operations."
The Presidential Office also added, "We discussed the need to strengthen future large-scale wildfire response capabilities and safety management."
Since President Yoon Seok-yeol is currently suspended from duty due to impeachment proceedings, it appears that the phrase "agreed" was used euphemistically rather than indicating specific directives.
Earlier that day, President Yoon posted a message on the social networking service (SNS) Facebook, saying, "I hope the government and local governments mobilize all available resources to quickly extinguish the wildfires and provide good assistance to the victims."
President Yoon expressed condolences, saying, "I pray for the souls of the four firefighters and public officials who tragically lost their lives during the firefighting efforts," and added, "Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the firefighters and public officials, many areas have been quickly contained, but there are still five locations where fierce battles continue, and the number of victims is increasing, which is truly regrettable."
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