Gyeonggi Province Launches Comprehensive Winter Safety Measures for Heavy Snow, Fire Prevention, and Vulnerable Groups

Gyeonggi Province is rolling out a comprehensive, proactive plan for winter that covers all disaster and safety areas directly affecting residents’ daily lives, including heavy snow and cold waves, fire prevention, and protection for vulnerable groups. The plan includes “Gyeonggi Safe Snow Removal,” an initiative to strengthen advance snow removal during commuting hours.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae chaired a meeting to review comprehensive winter safety measures for residents of Gyeonggi Province at the Disaster and Safety Situation Room No. 1 at Gyeonggi Provincial Government on November 11.

The meeting brought together heads of eight offices and bureaus, including the Safety Management Office, Fire and Disaster Headquarters, Welfare Bureau, and Immigration and Social Affairs Bureau, as well as officials from the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency and the Ground Operations Command. Relevant organizations, including the operators of seven privately funded roads in the province, also attended in large numbers to review winter disaster and safety measures in their respective areas and discuss how to work together.

“The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasts that this winter will be warmer and wetter than usual, so we must consider the possibility of heavy snowfall and prepare for it,” Governor Choo said. “We must also do more to protect vulnerable groups from winter cold waves and heavy snow, as well as from fires. I ask you to make thorough preparations for every winter disaster and safety issue that directly affects residents’ daily lives.”

She added, “Protecting residents’ lives and safety is the foremost service and duty of public officials. With that commitment in mind, we must further strengthen the control-tower role of the provincial Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters. Please build a strong cooperative system centered on the province with the 31 cities and counties, the Gyeonggi Southern and Northern Provincial Police Agencies, fire services, the Ground Operations Command, and the operators of seven privately funded roads, and coordinate your response.”

Choo Mi-ae, governor of Gyeonggi Province, presides over a meeting to review comprehensive winter safety measures for Gyeonggi residents at the Disaster and Safety Situation Room No. 1 at the provincial government headquarters on the 11th. Provided by Gyeonggi Province.

Regarding measures for heavy snow and cold waves, the meeting’s main agenda, Gyeonggi Province will introduce “Gyeonggi Safe Snow Removal” to minimize inconvenience for residents commuting amid traffic congestion during snowfall. De-icing agents will be spread two to three hours before snowfall. If snowfall is expected to coincide with commuting hours, as it did during last year’s first snowfall, the provincial Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will directly check whether snow removal has been completed, strengthening its role as the control tower for responding to heavy snow.

In addition, to prevent a recurrence of deaths and injuries caused by collapses and overturning incidents during the heavy snow in 2024, the province will begin a pilot run this month of its “Winter AI Disaster Response System for Preventing Casualties,” developed in-house without a separate budget. When regional snowfall reaches the provincial guidelines—15 cm or more for evacuation preparations, 20 cm or more for an evacuation recommendation, and 25 cm or more for an evacuation order—a warning sound will automatically play along with a pop-up alert. As soon as the pop-up is viewed, the location of the high-risk area and footage from six nearby CCTV cameras will be displayed simultaneously. This will allow the situation room to monitor conditions on site in real time and quickly order traffic controls and evacuations, helping secure the critical window for response.

The province will also strengthen preparations for cold waves and its safety net for vulnerable groups. The number of cold-wave shelters will increase by 981 from the previous year to 8,943, including shelters with nighttime and extended operating hours. It also plans to provide KRW 50,000 per month in heating assistance to low-income seniors and households with people with severe disabilities, and energy vouchers to vulnerable groups. In addition, it will use big data, including records of electricity and water disconnections, to identify and support people at risk of falling through gaps in the welfare system during winter.

At the meeting, Gyeonggi Province also conducted an intensive review of tailored measures for different areas, based on cooperation among relevant departments and organizations, to prevent not only heavy-snow emergencies but also other disasters and safety incidents that are more likely to occur in winter.

The main measures include ▲preventing accidents caused by icy roads (black ice) ▲on-site inspections of heating and electrical facilities at housing facilities for migrant workers ▲measures to address agricultural and livestock disasters, including those affecting greenhouses and livestock barns.

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