Gangneung City Launches Comprehensive Chuseok Holiday Measures; 24-Hour Disaster and Safety Response

[Financial News, Gangneung — Reporter Kim Gi-seop] Gangneung City will implement comprehensive measures covering eight areas, including safety management, healthcare, prices and transportation, to protect the safety of residents and people returning to their hometowns during the Chuseok holiday.
According to Gangneung City on the 21st, the city will operate a comprehensive situation room for four days, from the 24th through the 27th, while focusing on measures in eight areas closely tied to residents' daily lives. The disaster and safety situation room will operate around the clock, day and night, so that residents and holiday travelers returning to their hometowns can spend the holiday safely.
To ease the burden of rising prices, the city will operate a price-monitoring situation room, track price trends for major holiday items and strengthen monitoring of key items under close management. Safety personnel will also be deployed in the crowded area around Jungang Seongnam Market, a popular destination for tourists.
An emergency medical care system will also be activated to minimize gaps in medical services. Gangneung Asan Hospital and Gangneung Medical Center will operate their emergency rooms as usual, while Gangneung Dongin Hospital and Gangneung Korea Hospital will maintain their medical services throughout the holiday. Hospitals, clinics, Korean medicine clinics and pharmacies will be designated to open on specific dates, ensuring that residents can access necessary medical services during the holiday. Drawing on its experience responding to last year's drought, the city will monitor rising water consumption in real time and operate a water-supply situation room to ensure a stable supply of tap water. Rapid-response teams for waste disposal and civil complaints will also be in operation.
In transportation, special measures will be implemented to ease congestion in the city center and around major tourist attractions. The city will operate a traffic situation room from the 23rd through the 27th and deploy traffic-control personnel at key points, including the Okcheon Ogeori roundabout, in front of Hanwha Life, the roundabout in front of LAKAI's main entrance and the Anmok Sageori intersection, to direct the flow of vehicles.
Management of public parking facilities will also be strengthened. Guidance and traffic-order measures will be carried out at Jungang Market Public Parking Lot 1, Jungang Market Public Parking Lot 3, Gangmun Beach Public Parking Lot 1 and the Geumseong-ro on-street parking lot, among others. In particular, during the holiday, Jungang Market Public Parking Lot 1, a downtown public parking lot and the Dongbu Market public parking lot will be opened free of charge to improve parking convenience. The city will also inspect traffic signs and safety facilities along major roads and around toll gates. It will enhance the safety of public transportation users by inspecting passenger transport vehicles, providing safety and courtesy training for transportation workers and checking bus terminal facilities.
Kim Jungnam, mayor of Gangneung, said, "We have completed preparations to stay by residents' side throughout the holiday, including operating the disaster and safety situation room around the clock, keeping emergency rooms open as usual and opening public parking lots free of charge." He added, "We will carefully oversee all eight areas without neglecting any of them—including closely managing the tap-water supply to prevent a recurrence of last year's drought—so that residents can spend the holiday with peace of mind."

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter