BUSAN — The Busan Metropolitan Government said it is mobilizing all available administrative resources to search for missing crew members and support victims' families after a tugboat capsized in waters off Oryukdo Island. The city said it held an emergency response meeting on the 2nd at the disaster and safety headquarters in city hall, chaired by Vice Mayor for Administrative Affairs Kim Kyung-deok, to review damage from the capsizing and measures to support search and rescue operations for the missing.
Officials from the city's maritime affairs, disaster safety and welfare departments attended alongside the Korea Coast Guard and fire authorities, discussing the personnel and equipment needed for the search as well as plans to manage the aftermath. Based on the outcome, the city will dispatch on-site liaison officers to the Oryukdo coast and assign one dedicated official to each missing person and their family.
The city is also strengthening its on-site response structure. It will operate the Busan disaster and safety headquarters and the Dong-gu district disaster and safety headquarters, and set up integrated on-site support centers in Nam-gu and Haeundae-gu. The aim is to identify difficulties at the scene quickly and back up search, rescue and recovery work.
Support for victims and their families will run in parallel. The city will operate family support teams in each district and provide tailored counseling and a "mind relief program" through disaster psychological recovery support. Foreign victims will receive emergency interpretation services and other assistance to help with the response and the return to daily life for victims' families.
"What matters most right now is rescuing even one more person as quickly as possible," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said. "We will work closely with the Korea Coast Guard, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and other agencies to mobilize every available person and piece of equipment."
