President Lee Jae-myung pledged to sternly respond to public safety accidents and incidents that could have been prevented.

Presiding over a session to check up on public safety and security on Thursday, Lee said the main purpose of the state is to protect public lives and ensure their safety.

The president said regardless, large-scale disasters, flood damage, and crimes do occur in daily lives, adding that, while a significant number of past cases could not be avoided, there are quite a lot that could have been avoided by paying more attention.

Lee then went on to list the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, which he said had many complicated causes, the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush due to insufficient crowd control and the 2023 Osong underground tunnel flooding caused by insufficient facilities management.
 
The president urged the government to give priority to protecting public lives and ensuring their safety over areas concerning rights and interests when assigning competent personnel in the public sector.