After Jeju Disappearance Cases, Monthly Meeting Also Focuses on ‘Safety’... Measures Planned for Solo Travelers and Nighttime Routes

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 As recent disappearance cases and concerns about public safety continue, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province held its regular monthly policy meeting as the ‘Safe Jeju Strategy Meeting’ and began reviewing safety measures that tourists and residents can actually feel.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 2nd, the province held its September monthly policy meeting at Tamra Hall in the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office, converting it into the ‘Safe Jeju Strategy Meeting’ under the chairmanship of Governor Wi Seong-gon.
The decision came amid concerns that a series of recent disappearance cases in Jeju and related reports could cause anxiety not only among residents but also among tourists. At the meeting, officials reviewed safety measures being pursued by each department and agreed to distinguish between issues requiring immediate on-site improvements and tasks requiring budgetary or institutional changes.
Governor Wi linked safety concerns to confidence in tourism and the local economy. He said, "As recent disappearance cases and reports of public safety concerns continue, not only residents but also tourists visiting Jeju are feeling anxious," adding, "If confidence in safety falters, it could affect not only residents’ daily lives but also Jeju tourism and the local economy as a whole."
Solo travelers were the first group discussed at the meeting. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is reviewing ways to systematically support people traveling to Jeju alone, with reference to the ‘Solo Visitor Safety Service’ operated by the Jeju Olle Foundation’s call center.
The province will also strengthen on-site responses at tourist destinations such as oreums and Olle trails, where relatively few people are present. It plans to establish a cooperative system with the two administrative cities, involving eup, myeon, and dong offices familiar with local conditions as well as private organizations such as volunteer crime-prevention patrols to jointly inspect and patrol high-risk areas.
The Jeju Provincial Autonomous Police Corps is currently expanding foot and vehicle patrols in sparsely populated areas such as Olle trails, coastal areas, and oreums, as well as in alleyway commercial districts. Patrols using drones and activities linked to local safety organizations are also under way.
At night, the province will reassess lighting levels themselves. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province plans to improve aging streetlights in residential and commercial areas and adjust the spacing between installations. At roundabouts without lighting or that fall below brightness standards, visibility will be improved in stages so drivers and pedestrians can recognize them more easily.

Governor Wi instructed officials not merely to check whether streetlights had been installed, but to measure actual brightness along routes used by pedestrians. The aim is to inspect conditions on site, including whether the areas between streetlights are excessively dark or whether street trees block the light and create blind spots, and then develop improvements.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province will also reassess existing measures, including the expansion of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and nighttime patrols, at the level of individual communities. The focus will be on improving the effectiveness of these measures by reducing areas vulnerable to crime and accidents, rather than simply counting how many facilities have been installed.
The period when large numbers of visitors enter Jeju will also test the province’s safety measures. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju City, and Seogwipo City will operate a comprehensive situation room and sector-specific response teams during the Chuseok holiday from the 24th to the 27th. They will respond to issues involving safety and medical care, transportation and tourism, the local economy, and daily-life inconveniences.
The province will also conduct mobility, facility, and on-site safety inspections in preparation for major events, including the 46th National Sports Festival for the Disabled, which will be held in Jeju for the first time beginning on the 11th, followed by the National Sports Tournament.
Governor Wi urged officials, saying, "The safety of residents and visitors must be our top priority, and each department should carefully examine the measures needed at the sites under its responsibility." He added, "I ask local organizations and residents to help create an atmosphere in which everyone looks after safety in their surroundings."
In addition to safety measures, the meeting discussed major provincial issues, including a future-growth strategy for the Jeju region, securing national funding for 2027, youth policies, Jeju New Port, offshore wind power, and the protection of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.
Governor Wi instructed officials to respond to follow-up procedures so that the Jeju region’s growth engine, included in the government’s ‘5-axis, 3-special-zone’ national balanced-growth strategy, leads to actual investment and institutional support. He also called for Jeju projects included in the 2027 government budget proposal to be protected during National Assembly deliberations, while securing additional national funding for projects that were not included or were only partially reflected.
Now that Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has replaced its monthly policy meeting with a safety strategy meeting, the next challenge is to show how conditions have changed on the ground. Whether support for solo travelers, patrols in vulnerable areas, and improvements to nighttime walking conditions lead to a tangible sense of safety is expected to be closely tied to restoring confidence in Jeju tourism.


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