Page 89 - 2020 Defence White Paper

management throughout all phases including disaster prevention, preparation, and
recovery. With the "working-level crisis response manual for different types of
disasters" updated, the MND continues to use the manual in actual safety exercises
and ref nes it by actively participating in the Safe Korea Exercise conducted annually
under the supervision of the MOIS. During the Ulchi Taegeuk exercise in June 2019,
the civilian–government–military integrated response system was solidified after
conducting training in response to high-speed train derailment accidents with the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT). Chapter 3
To provide prompt support not only in disasters within the military but also in
situations requiring military assistance, the MND operates a disaster control center
in Army, Navy, and Air Force units at every echelon–approximately 400 centers
in total–and maintains emergency response systems and organic cooperation
with relevant agencies, including municipal governments and local fire stations.
Furthermore, the MND organizes annual military-wide conferences for disaster-
related officers and conducts specialized trainings which help improve the disaster
response capabilities of disaster-related off cers in units of every echelon.

Support for National Disasters With the increase in the level of damages

caused by recent disasters such as earth-
quakes, forest f res, droughts, and torrential rains, protecting the lives and property of
the people and supporting the public in overcoming disasters have become one of the
major missions of the ROK Armed Forces. For the past five years, the ROK Armed
Forces has been fulf lling missions at the forefront of disaster sites to protect the lives
and property of the people. Around 980,000 troops and 77,000 pieces of equipment
for disaster relief and damage restoration activities were deployed during this period.
Details on the support status are as shown in Chart 3-9 .
Due to an increase in forest fires in early April 2019, the ROK Armed Forces
deployed five military helicopters to combat forest fires in the Gangwon-do area.
8,180 troops and 546 pieces of equipment, including 35 firefighting helicopters,
were deployed when a large forest fire occurred in Goseong, Gangwon-do, thereby
minimizing damages to the military. Moreover, support was immediately provided
for civilian damage recovery, assisting the local residents to safely return to their
homes without delay. In the case of the Hungarian cruise ship sinking in May 2019,
seven members of a ROK naval rescue team, consisting of rescuers with experience
in the Sewol Ferry rescue, were dispatched to the on-site rescue operation and
devotedly carried out operations to rescue Korean civilians even under adverse f eld The ROK Armed
Forces protecting
the daily lives of
conditions in Hungary. people

Chapter 3. Safeguarding Peace by Establishing a Robust Defense Posture Against Omnidirectional Security Threats