Gyeonggi Province to Conduct Ulchi Taegeuk Drill from 27th to 30th...150 Organizations, 16,000 Participants

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim A-hyeon] Gyeonggi Province will conduct the '2019 Ulchi Taegeuk Drill' from the 27th to 30th with participation of approximately 16,000 personnel from 150 organizations including the province, cities and counties, and related agencies.

The 'Ulchi Taegeuk Drill' is a new government training model conducted to prepare not only for wartime situations, but also for comprehensive security challenges including disasters and cyber terrorism.

Following the suspension of the Ulchi Drill last year due to an atmosphere of inter-Korean reconciliation, the name and format have been revised to 'Ulchi Taegeuk Drill' this year in response to the new security environment, marking its first implementation.

The drill will be divided into two parts: Part 1 National Crisis Response Drill and Part 2 Wartime Preparedness Drill.

Part 1 drill, to be conducted from the 27th to 28th, will focus on strengthening nationwide capabilities for managing large-scale complex crises through national crisis response drills based on the comprehensive security concept.

Part 2 drill, to be conducted from the 28th to 30th, will be coordinated with the Korean Armed Forces Taegeuk Drill and focus on wartime preparedness drills at the level of total national mobilization.

In particular, the province plans to promote realistic field drills that provide practical effectiveness and on-site realism, in addition to crisis message handling map exercises, administrative agency dispersal drills, and wartime establishment organization drills that were previously emphasized in the Ulchi Drill.

In Part 1 drill on the 27th, a comprehensive civil-military-police integrated response field drill will be conducted assuming a hazardous chemical substance leak accident caused by an earthquake at LG Display in Paju; and in Part 2 drill on the 30th, a joint civil-military-police drill for terrorism preparedness at multiple-use facilities will be conducted at KINTEX in Goyang to strengthen on-site response capabilities.

In parallel with the field drills, approximately 70 types and 200 pieces of security and disaster equipment including helicopters, tanks and various weapons, and advanced robots will be displayed, providing opportunities for residents and drill participants to experience them. The drills will be conducted as resident experience-oriented training to enhance provincial residents' awareness of safety and security.

Jung Sang-gyun, Director of Balanced Development Planning at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "This Ulchi Taegeuk Drill is a comprehensive drill based on the comprehensive security concept that departs from the existing character of the Ulchi Drill, which focused primarily on wartime preparedness, to prepare simultaneously for large-scale complex crises and wartime," and "through this drill, we will establish full readiness to protect the lives and property of provincial residents."