Governor Lee Jae-myung Cuts Short Summer Vacation, Returns Early to Provincial Duties Amid Continued Heavy Downpours

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Noh-hoon] Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province cut short his summer vacation due to the continued heavy downpours and returned early to provincial duties. Upon his return, the governor immediately visited the heavy rain damage site in Anseong to inspect the flood response status.

The governor had originally planned to take a week-long summer vacation from July 30 to the 5th, but judging that rain damage in the Gyeonggi region was severe, he forfeited his remaining vacation and visited the site, according to provincial authorities.

Anseong experienced record-breaking downpours exceeding 100mm per hour, causing landslides and urban flooding. As of 10 a.m. on the 3rd, one person had died and 132 displaced residents were reported.
Around 3 p.m. that day, Governor Lee drove himself without an aide to Juksan Elementary School in Juksan-myeon, Anseong—one of the evacuation shelters for displaced residents. After inspecting the site, he told Anseong Mayor Kim Bo-ra: “Since rain continues, please do your utmost in victim relief to prevent further damage expansion,” and added, “If anything is needed, the province will provide active support.”

Meanwhile, the governor posted on his social media account that day with the title ‘We will prepare for all damage through proactive and preemptive response’ and said, “Even if criticized for excessive response, I will carefully attend to matters so there is no damage from complacent measures,” urging residents to submit reports.

The governor stated: “If there are matters to report such as damage-prone areas, crisis situations, and flood information, please provide tips through comments and messages. I will activate SNS as a real-time disaster communication channel,” and continued, “Each small signal observed in the surroundings can be a hint to prevent major crises. We must not regret overlooking preventable disasters.”

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province has elevated its disaster response headquarters operation to the highest level, emergency level 4, for the first time in nine years, and is dispatching on-site situation support officials to affected areas, making all-out efforts to minimize damage throughout the province.
Governor Lee plans to maintain 24-hour emergency standby at his official residence until the heavy rain situation concludes.