President slams 'thoughtless' actions of public officials during fatal flooding

President Lee Jae Myung in a Cabinet meeting slammed some public officials for their inappropriate conduct amid ongoing search and recovery efforts following torrential nationwide rainfall and flooding.

President Lee Jae Myung, center, bangs a gavel to begin a Cabinet meeting, the first one with nine new ministers, at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul on July 22. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday slammed some public officials for their inappropriate conduct amid ongoing search and recovery efforts following torrential nationwide rainfall and flooding.

Lee called for a "strict crackdown on the careless public officials who went about drinking and dancing or acted thoughtlessly in a difficult situation where people were dying" at the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul, emphasizing that it is important to punish misconduct by civil servants.

He referred to an incident where Mayor Baek Kyung-hyeon of Guri, Gyeonggi, was reported to have attended an outing at a restaurant in Hongcheon, Gangwon, on Sunday and was filmed singing and dancing with a microphone despite ongoing casualties in northern Gyeonggi due to the torrential rainfall last week. In another incident, North Chungcheong Gov. Kim Young-hwan came under fire for drinking with city council members amid the second anniversary of the Osong underpass flooding in Cheongju that claimed 14 lives on July 15, 2023.

Lee, however, acknowledged the efforts of hard-working civil servants, praising the "many public officials doing their utmost" following the rain damage. He urged officials to "identify and promote these exemplary cases to serve as models for others."

The torrential rainfall and landslides resulted in 19 deaths as of Tuesday, including 10 in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, an area Lee visited Monday to examine the extent of the flood damage.

President Lee Jae Myung, right, inspects damages after torrential rainfall in a visit to Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang, on July 21. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee said that as the president, he will "try to be more sensitive to the pain that each and every citizen is experiencing," and asked relevant authorities to do their best to search for missing individuals and support the recovery, instructing them to designate special disaster zones and distribute special grants as swiftly as possible.

He noted that with the end of the monsoon season, the heat wave is returning, and called on ministers to be attentive to minimize heat-related deaths as well as food poisoning resulting from the effect of conditions on storage.

Lee further called on the government to work to boost domestic spending with the rolling out of stimulus coupons beginning Tuesday.

The coupons, offering cash-equivalent vouchers to stimulate domestic consumption, offers a payment of 150,000 won ($108) to 450,000 won in the first phase, depending on residency and income.

Noting that many apply online, Lee instructed the relevant agencies to "mobilize all administrative power to prevent anyone from being left out" from receiving the payments.

The president further called on the government to implement measures to curb inflation and urged ministries to step up with other ways to stimulate domestic consumption.

This marked Lee's first Cabinet meeting with nine new ministers, including his new ministers of trade, industry and energy; economy and finance; foreign affairs; interior and safety; health and welfare; and justice.

He welcomed the new Cabinet members and urged them to "remember that every single thing you do has a critical impact on the lives of our 52 million people and serves as a touchstone for our country's future."

This comes as Lee is expected to request that the National Assembly send a parliamentary confirmation hearing report for Kang Sun-woo, his gender minister nominee, on Tuesday, according to the presidential office, tacitly indicating his intention to appoint her despite allegations of workplace abuse against her.

Kang, a Democratic Party lawmaker, underwent a parliamentary hearing on July 14, but the main opposition People Power Party has refused to adopt a report over allegations of abuse of power, such as making aides perform household chores, during her time in the National Assembly.

On Sunday, Lee withdrew the nomination for another controversial pick, Lee Jin-sook, as education minister nominee.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]