Park Seung-won, the mayor of Gwangmyeong, emphasized on August 18 that "the safety of citizens is the top priority" in relation to the 2026 Eulji exercise.
During a situation report meeting held at the city hall's emergency management facility, Mayor Park stated, "We will thoroughly review and enhance our response system to ensure that this exercise can effectively protect citizens in real crisis situations."
This year's training focuses on improving response capabilities to complex crisis situations, including drone attacks, reflecting the changing security environment. It aims to ensure that collaboration among military, police, and fire departments can be activated swiftly in actual emergencies.
Mayor Park noted that over 520 participants from eight agencies and facilities, including the 2nd Battalion of the 167th Infantry Brigade, the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency, Gwangmyeong Police Station, Gwangmyeong Fire Station, and the Gwangmyeong Education Support Office, will take part in this Eulji exercise.
Notably, this year’s training will utilize schools and large supermarkets that citizens actually use, moving away from a focus solely on administrative agencies to enhance on-site response capabilities.
On August 18, the exercise will begin with an emergency assembly of public officials to confirm the wartime organizational structure and review departmental duties and administrative evacuation procedures.
On August 19, discussions will focus on city-level response strategies and the roles of various agencies in the event of a simulated drone attack.
On August 20, an evacuation drill will take place at the E-Mart Gwangmyeong Sohwa branch to prepare for airstrike scenarios.
More than 100 participants, including customers, employees, and civil defense members, will learn the procedures for quickly evacuating during an airstrike and will also conduct a "road clearing drill" to facilitate the passage of emergency vehicles.
On the same day, Gwangmyeong Middle School will host a practical joint training exercise using actual drones.
In this drill, military, police, and fire departments will respond collectively to scenarios involving drone attacks and armed intrusions, comprehensively reviewing response procedures from incident occurrence to on-site control and life protection.
Citizens are particularly interested in this Eulji exercise, as it is not limited to internal administrative training but takes place in spaces that the public actually uses, such as schools and large supermarkets.
The practical training, reflecting recent security concerns such as drone attacks and armed intrusions, is expected to provide citizens with a clear understanding of how to act in emergency situations.
Residents believe that actively participating in drills at multi-use facilities like supermarkets, rather than just observing, will enhance the effectiveness of learning evacuation routes and emergency vehicle protocols.
Meanwhile, Mayor Park Seung-won added, "We will work closely with relevant agencies to develop the capability to respond swiftly in any situation."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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