(Unofficial Translation)

I assume that many people are enjoying the long holiday weekend at this time. I hope they can find the time to rest and comfort minds and bodies that have been exhausted by COVID-19.

However, I ask everyone not to forget to keep a proper distance and wear face masks whenever and wherever people are gathering. I hope all of us remember that in this way, we can regain freedom in our daily lives at the earliest possible date.

Many people have lost their precious lives because of an unspeakably horrible fire at a warehouse construction site in Icheon. It is, without question, a regrettable and wretched accident. I extend condolences and consolation from deep in my heart to the victims and bereaved families. I urge the relevant ministries and agencies to support the bereaved families in all sincerity and help them hold funerals without any disruptions as well as to do all they can to provide financial assistance, including industrial-accident compensation.

The accident was very regressive and shameful in that once more a similar large-scale, past disaster seems to have been repeated. Our immediate priority is to properly investigate the cause.

Following the fire at a cold-storage warehouse in Icheon in 2008, safety measures were devised to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents, and my Administration has also enhanced fire-related safety measures. Still, those measures have not been working properly out in the field, and therefore, we must ascertain the reasons. I call upon you to rigorously investigate why safety guidelines were not properly complied with and who is accountable for the management and supervision as well.

In addition, I ask you to come up with countermeasures that specifically address completing the final stages of the construction process where immense fires like this one are highly likely to occur. To ensure that similar accidents do not occur again by fundamentally eliminating risk factors, I call upon relevant ministries and agencies to have consultations, come up with unfailing countermeasures and report back to me.

Last weekend, a wildfire broke out in Goseong, Gangwon-do Province. The wind was so strong that a high wind advisory had been issued, so it could have developed into a massive forest fire. However, it was brought under control with relatively little damage. Thanks to the cooperation of local residents, the area damaged was significantly smaller than the area destroyed by forest fire in that region at around the same time last year, and there was not a single loss of life this time.

As firefighters have been reclassified as civil servants of the central government, it has become possible for them to be deployed swiftly. With the members of the Korea Forest Service’s special forest fire brigade becoming regular workers, their expertise has been enhanced, which was also of significant help this time.

This is the result of developing a forest fire response system by learning a lesson from the wildfires in Gangwon-do last year. I commend the hard work of not only the Korea Forest Service staff, the firefighters and public servants of Gangwon-do and Goseong-gun but also the military personnel who dedicated themselves to putting out the wildfire. I am also grateful to the local residents who quickly cooperated and evacuated the area.

The Government started distributing emergency relief payments today to all citizens regardless of their income. A way to console and encourage those suffering from the COVID-19 outbreak, I’m also looking forward to these being helpful, however slightly, for reviving economic vitality. As promised, we will ensure that they will be provided as quickly and conveniently as possible.

Starting today, low-income households, totaling around 2.8 million, will have money transferred directly to their accounts with no need to struggle with an application. Most of the public with convenient internet access can quickly receive their payment through a simple online application. Those who find applying online difficult can make walk-in applications and receive payments on the spot. Applications can be made on days that correspond to the last digit of an applicant’s birth year so that no one will have to endure inconveniences caused by a sudden, simultaneous rush of applications.

The Government will do its utmost so that these emergency relief payments, the first in the country’s history, can be delivered quickly and conveniently to the people.

During deliberations on the supplementary budget, the Government put in place a mechanism to allow people to voluntarily donate their payments in line with our decision to expand the scope of eligible recipients to include all citizens. This is intended as a way for everyone to pull together and surmount the economic crisis together. 

Donations are a voluntary choice based on good will. They cannot be forced, nor should they be. A sense of satisfaction and self-esteem from making a donation would be the reward. I ask the people to participate as much as they can afford or are willing to. 

The money donated will be used to maintain employment and support those who have become unemployed. No matter how large or small, it will provide a helping hand that unites us with our neighbors in need and a source of power that helps overcome this national crisis. Moreover, even if people cannot afford to make a donation, they will be able to contribute to reviving the contracted domestic demand just by spending what they’ve received.

It’s desirable to see the voluntary donation of emergency relief payments spread. Each and every part of our society, including employees and executives at corporations and religious groups, are putting their hearts and minds behind donating. Residents are continuing to donate to local governments. I extend my deepest respect to the spirit of solidarity and cooperation of those making efforts to pull together to overcome the crisis.

The Government will do everything it can to ensure that the sincerely collected donations are used most effectively for the places and people in need.