Ganghwa County Governor Park Yong-chul Holds Talks with Marine Corps 2nd Division on Current Issues

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] Ganghwa County Governor Park Yong-chul made a surprise visit to the Marine Corps 2nd Division on the 28th and held talks with Division Commander Chung Jong-beom on current issues.

The visit was made to share damage suffered by residents due to North Korea's loudspeaker broadcasts to the South, which have continued since July, and to request that the Ministry of Defense actively cooperate in restricting "leaflet distributions to North Korea," one of the sensitive matters.

Ganghwa County has continuously demanded measures from the government and the National Assembly to address noise damage from loudspeaker broadcasts, but no significant solutions have emerged three months later. The situation has reached a critical point, with affected residents even kneeling at the National Assembly's audit session to make their appeals.

Governor Park Yong-chul stated, "We are currently implementing danger zone designations to prevent leaflet distributions to North Korea," and "We will take all measures that Ganghwa County can undertake for residents' safety," requesting understanding and cooperation from the military authorities.

In response, Division Commander Chung Jong-beom replied, "We will actively cooperate if it is for the safety of Ganghwa County residents."

Regarding the inconvenience caused by checkpoint access, Governor Park Yong-chul requested, "The checkpoint in front of Yangsa-myeon Office should be converted to a Hi-Pass system during daytime and face-to-face inspections only at night, and the Kyodong Bridge checkpoint should be converted to a complete Hi-Pass system to minimize residents' inconvenience caused by traffic congestion."

Meanwhile, regarding measures to address loudspeaker broadcasts, Governor Park has visited the Marine Corps 5th Brigade and Ganghwa Police Station shortly after taking office to discuss damage countermeasures, continuously communicating with affected residents and exploring noise minimization plans such as installing soundproof windows.

He has also conducted on-site mental health counseling sessions for affected residents and, for farms suffering livestock damage, deployed joint investigation teams to conduct epidemiological investigations and provided livestock stress relief products. Additionally, in cooperation with related organizations, counter-broadcasts to offset noise and precision noise level measurements have been conducted.