President Yoon Suk Yeol called for the swift implementation of response measures to damage inflicted by heavy rains and flooding through all policy means, including the declaration of special disaster zones.

Yoon, who convened a disaster response meeting upon returning from an overseas trip to Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine on Monday, stressed that recovery efforts and state disaster support should also be promptly enacted.

The president said he cannot repress grief and pity over what has happened, saying that he prays for those who lost their lives and sends condolences to the bereaved families.

Assessing that dozens of fatalities have resulted from a failure to better manage areas prone to rain-related damage, such as landslides, Yoon urged officials to preemptively evacuate people in at-risk areas and block access to them.

He reiterated a call for officials to be extraordinarily determined to respond to weather-related disasters, as they have become the norm in the wake of climate change.