President Lee Convenes Emergency Meeting on Nepal Floods: "No Such Thing as Overreaction When It Comes to Citizens' Lives and Safety"

"Full Mobilization of Government Resources" to Rescue and Locate Missing Citizens
Activating Diplomatic Channels with Nepal... Assigning Dedicated Family Liaisons and Considering Humanitarian Aid

On August 27, President Lee Jae-myung convened an unscheduled emergency meeting regarding the critical situation facing South Korean nationals due to flooding in Nepal, and directed the government to mobilize all available resources to rescue and locate citizens who have lost contact.

President Lee Jae-myung is presiding over an emergency meeting on response to flood damage in Nepal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul on August 27, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News.

On this day, through his official account on X (formerly Twitter), President Lee stated, "I have instructed an all-out, full-scale response, mobilizing every available resource, on the principle that there is no such thing as overreacting when it comes to protecting the lives and safety of our people." President Lee expressed that he convened the emergency meeting with a heavy heart, explaining, "The unprecedented crisis triggered by flooding in Nepal has put the lives and safety of our nationals in grave danger."

The meeting was attended virtually by the acting ambassador to Nepal, who reported on the extent of the damage in the affected region, the state of roads and communications, and updates on search and rescue efforts by the Nepalese authorities. Based on these reports, President Lee reviewed the local conditions and rescue environment.

President Lee stressed, "All government capacities will be focused on rescuing and locating our nationals who have lost contact, and we will thoroughly check to make sure there are no additional victims." This demonstrates the government's commitment to broaden its response to include both ongoing rescue operations and checks for any further casualties.

It was also decided to strengthen cooperation with the Nepalese government. President Lee remarked, "We will activate all diplomatic channels to closely coordinate with the Nepalese authorities, ensuring that the necessary personnel and equipment for search and rescue can be rapidly deployed to the site. We will also actively consider providing the necessary humanitarian aid."

A separate support system will be set up for the families of missing citizens. President Lee stated, "Above all, we will carefully attend to the families anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones," and promised, "We will designate a dedicated liaison officer for each family to ensure there is no lack of support or communication." President Lee also appealed to those engaged in search and rescue operations locally, “Please do your utmost until the end, with the determination to protect the lives and safety of our people.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.