Korea grappled with its most turbulent yr when it comes to public security crises in a decade, with a authorities report launched Sunday detailing 39 main incidents nationwide in 2024. The grim milestone underscores a 10-year excessive within the frequency of large-scale emergencies attributable to folks and systemic failures.
The disasters prompted 250 deaths, injured 967 folks and left 16 lacking, bringing the whole variety of casualties to 1,233. Property injury reached 131.09 billion received ($88.5 million), the Ministry of the Inside and Security stated in its annual catastrophe yearbook.
Social disasters are outlined as incidents requiring a nationwide or native authorities response, together with fires, structural collapses, explosions, crowd crushes, aviation accidents, disruptions to important infrastructure and the unfold of infectious illnesses.
The frequency of large-scale accidents rose roughly 22 % from 32 circumstances in 2023.
Regardless of the rise in incidents, the variety of deaths dropped sharply from 2023, declining by 3,215. Authorities attributed the lower largely to the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic, which considerably decreased fatalities linked to infectious illnesses.
In distinction, accidents surged, with 846 extra folks harm than a yr earlier — a rise of about 700 %. Officers stated the spike was pushed primarily by a mass meals poisoning outbreak at instructional services that sickened 865 folks.
The variety of lacking individuals rose to 16 from 4 in 2023. All circumstances had been linked to maritime disasters, the report stated.
Fires had been the most typical social catastrophe final yr, accounting for 16 circumstances. These incidents killed 10 folks, injured 52 others and prompted 75.67 billion received in property injury.
Different incidents included 5 maritime disasters, three outbreaks of livestock illnesses and two gas-related accidents. One case concerned a disruption of important nationwide infrastructure attributable to a protracted medical service hole stemming from a dispute between docs and the federal government. One other concerned an aviation accident during which a passenger plane crashed whereas trying to land at an airport with out an operational runway.
The frequency of main public security emergencies has climbed during the last decade, surging from a mere seven circumstances in 2015 to the report highs seen at this time. Between 2015 and 2024, a complete of 227 such systemic failures had been documented nationwide, leaving a harrowing human toll of their wake: 36,447 deaths, 2,313 accidents, and 76 folks lacking. Past the lack of life, the cumulative financial fallout has additionally elevated, with property injury over the 10-year interval reaching 9.73 trillion received.
