“Even if the President Flew to Seoul, He Couldn’t Change the Situation” Why the President Headed for Ukraine Despite the Rain Damage at Home

President Yoon Suk-yeol attends a meeting to discuss the nation’s response to the latest heavy rainfall along with Cho Tae-yong, director of national security, in the presidential jet, Code One, heading for the Warsaw Chopin Airport from a regional airport in Poland after returning from his surprise trip to Ukraine on July 16 (local time). Courtesy of the Office of the President

On July 16 (local time), the Office of the President explained why President Yoon Suk-yeol decided to make a surprise trip to Ukraine despite increasing damage from the heavy rainfall in South Korea and said, “Even if the president of Korea immediately dashed over to Seoul, he isn’t in a position to significantly change the situation. He decided it was necessary to receive frequent reports on the situation and give necessary instructions. So he has been monitoring the situation more than once a day and giving necessary orders.”

A senior official from the Office of the President gave the explanation when a reporter asked if the office considered canceling the president’s trip to Ukraine due to the serious damage from the downpour in Korea during a press briefing in Warsaw, Poland Sunday.

During the briefing, when a journalist asked why President Yoon had to go to Ukraine despite the situation at home, another senior official from the presidential office answered, “There was a prior request for the visit by the leaders of Poland and Ukraine,” and added, “The president has never neglected to tend to the situation caused by heavy rains during his entire trip. We don’t think that the trip and the people’s lives are separate issues.”

Kim Eun-hye, the senior secretary to the president for public relations, gave a briefing on the rain damage at home in Warsaw on Sunday and said, “President Yoon has been receiving reports on the downpour in South Korea in real time throughout this trip and giving instructions.” She also said, “Right before he departed for Lithuania and again after he arrived in Poland, he spoke with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on the phone and in a video conference and directed the situation. Even in Ukraine, he asked officials to exert all efforts to respond to the crisis by using all resources available to the government as well as the military and the police.”

The senior press secretary conveyed that President Yoon presided over a video conference of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters while returning to Poland from Ukraine and said, “I pray for the people who died in the latest downpour and extend my condolences to their bereaved families.”

In the meeting, President Yoon asked the Korea Meteorological Administration to preemptively notify the specific weather conditions of each region quickly and instructed the police to cooperate with local governments and block access to low-lying areas at a level that could seem excessive. He repeatedly stressed the need for aggressive measures that may even come across as somewhat excessive when speaking to the disaster prevention authorities.

President Yoon is scheduled to personally preside over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters as soon as he returns from his trip.