President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday instructed his government to take "excessively preemptive" actions against possible damage from torrential downpours.
Yoon made the instruction before departing for Lithuania earlier in the day to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, his spokesperson Lee Do-woon said.
According to the state weather agency, the seasonal monsoon front will begin further strengthening over the Korean Peninsula this week, leading to a spate of localized heavy rain and flooding.
"If even a small risk factor is detected at the beginning of torrential downpours, (the authorities) should take excessively preemptive actions, such as the swift evacuation of people from at-risk areas," Yoon was quoted as saying.
He asked the central and provincial governments to thoroughly inspect dangerous and low-lying areas, including those vulnerable to landslides, and reinforce evacuation plans for the elderly and disabled, in particular.
Source: Yonhap News Agency