Hwaseong City Holds 2024 Ulji Exercise Integrated Defense Council Meeting

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Lee Su-won] The Hwaseong City Integrated Defense Council (Chairman Jung Myung-geun, Hwaseong City Mayor) held a '2024 Ulji Exercise Hwaseong City Integrated Defense Council Meeting' on the 19th at the Hwaseong City Hall Situation Room to establish regional security posture.

The meeting was attended by 11 ex-officio council members including Mayor Jung Myung-geun, Park Jeong-su, Chairman of the City Council, Jung Kwang-yun, Superintendent of Hwaseong-Osan Office of Education, commanding officers of the 51st Division and Counterintelligence Section 559-151, and officials from the Hwaseong Fire Station and Dongtan Police Station, as well as seven appointed council members including Ahn Sang-gyo, Chairman of the Hwaseong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Go Jae-yun, Chairman of the Hwaseong Special Construction Association, Seo Hyo-sook, Chairman of the Hwaseong Women's Organizations Council, Moon Cheon-sim, Chairman of the Hwaseong District Council of the Korean Red Cross, Song Min-su, Plant Manager of Kia AutoLand Hwaseong, Kim Chang-gyeom, Head of the Hwaseong Branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, and Park Mi-jung, Commander of the Hwaseong Women's Volunteer Fire Brigade.

The meeting proceeded in the following order: awarding appointment certificates to council members, briefing on the 2024 Ulji Exercise, counterintelligence security education and video viewing, and national crisis management response exercise (CMX) situation measures. The council visited the Ulji Exercise site to inspect the integrated defense posture of the civilian, government, military, police, and fire authorities.

At the meeting, council members pledged to establish an integrated defense posture through mutual respect and trust among the civilian, government, military, police, and fire sectors, enhance the security awareness of local residents, and strengthen the capacity of local reserve forces to protect Hwaseong City safely.

Meanwhile, the Ulji Exercise has been conducted annually since 1968 following North Korea's armed infiltration incident to establish national emergency preparedness. This year marks the 56th iteration, and this year's exercise will be held nationwide from the 19th to 22nd, spanning four days and three nights.

Mayor Jung Myung-geun stated, "Citizen safety is being threatened, such as North Korean garbage balloons that fell in 14 locations in the city including Dongtan, Bongdam, Mado, and Yanggam on June 2nd. The Integrated Defense Council will safely protect Hwaseong citizens not only in terms of security in preparation for contingencies, but also in the event of disasters and calamities."