Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety for Disaster and Safety Management Kim Sung-ho (right) on Aug. 7 speaks at a briefing held at the media center of the 25th World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, an estuarine tidal flat in Buan-gun County, Jeollabuk-do Province. (Yonhap News)

By Park Hye Ri

The government will evacuate participants in the 25th World Scout Jamboree from Saemangeum, an estuarine tidal flat in Buan-gun County, Jeollabuk-do Province, amid the approach of the year's sixth typhoon Khanun.

Vice Minister of the Interior and Safety for Disaster and Safety Management Kim Sung-ho on Aug. 7 held a briefing at the media center for the event in Saemangeum. "As Typhoon Khanun heads northward, we will conduct on Aug. 8 from 10 a.m. the emergency evacuation of participants in the Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree," he said.

"Jeollabuk-do Province will fall under the typhoon's sphere of influence should it hit, thus this plan was prepared after President Yoon Suk Yeol on Aug. 6 ordered government-level measures," he added. "We also reflected the fears and requests of the World Organization of the Scout Movement and each country's delegation."

About 1,000 buses will evacuate an estimated 36,000 event participants from 156 countries.

"We will arrange buses by country and deploy interpreters for convenience in communication," the vice minister said. "To ensure safety and order in the transportation process and a smooth relocation, we will cooperate with government branches like the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and relevant institutions including police and firefighting departments."

"Through cooperation with local governments nationwide, we will secure as many administrative institutions and private educational facilities as possible centered on the Seoul metropolitan area, which isn't in the path of the typhoon, to provide comfortable and safe lodging for the scouts."

The official added, "We will make full preparations so that accommodations and Jamboree programs for the participants can continue over the event's remaining four nights and five days."

hrhr@korea.kr