Yoon orders implementation of jamboree contingency plan

Aug 08, 2023, 10:10 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol delivers a welcoming speech during the opening ceremony of the 25th World Scout Jamboree at the Saemangeum site in North Jeolla Province, on Aug. 2, 2023./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday ordered the operation of a contingency plan for the 25th World Scout Jamboree, where participants’ early departure from the campsite is planned due to a looming typhoon.

As a result, the Jamboree participants will leave the Saemangeum campsite on Tuesday and move to Seoul and the surrounding capital area to participate in indoor activity-oriented programs until the last day of the event on Saturday. Their accommodation will be prepared in university dormitories as well as training facilities of public and private companies in the Seoul capital area. The K-pop concert, which was initially scheduled to take place Sunday at the Saemangeum campsite, has been rescheduled for Friday at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul.

President Yoon was briefed on the plan by Prime Minister Han Duk-soo and Interior Minister Lee Sang-min earlier Monday, senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said in a written briefing.

“As Typhoon Khanun is expected to change course and land on the Korean Peninsula this week, President Yoon and his aides have been discussing a contingency plan to ensure the safety of participants in the World Scout Jamboree,” Kim said.

Under the plan led by President Yoon, nearly 36,000 scouts from 156 countries at the campsite will be transferred to the Seoul capital area starting Tuesday morning. More than 1,000 tour buses will be moving the participants.

Kim Sung-ho, head of the Disaster and Safety Headquarters under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said in a briefing, “The president ordered the government on Sunday to come up with a plan as it is expected to be difficult for the Jamboree event to take place at the campsite as North Jeolla Province will be affected by the typhoon.”

As Kim said, the withdrawal of the Jamboree scouts from the Saemangeum campsite is largely attributed to President Yoon’s willingness to put the safety of the scouts first.

Yoon, who began his week-long vacation from Aug. 2, stayed in Jeodo Island of Geoje, received Jamboree related briefings real-time and gave instructions to take care of the campsite.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #contingency plan #World Scout Jamboree