By Lee Kap-soo

Regarding the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree where heat waves are causing a series of heat-activated patients, President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered, "Add a tourism program to make it a memorable event."

President Yoon, who is on vacation on Aug. 5, ordered Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Minister of Public Administration and Security Lee Sang-min to "add a tourism program to see Korea's industry, culture, history and nature urgently," Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for public relations, said in a written briefing.

President Yoon requested cooperation from cities and provinces such as Seoul, Pyeongchang, Gyeongju and Busan, and ordered them to implement such a tour program for all scouting students applying for it. 

President Yoon also stressed the government's all-out response and asked to provide cool air-conditioning buses to help them become a memorable Korean jamboree, Kim said.

Meanwhile, President Yoon called for all-out efforts on Aug. 6 to keep the conditions at the 2030 World Scout Jamboree campsite hygienic amid the scorching heat. Yoon especially instructed government officials to take special care against any incident, such as food poisoning.

Yoon also spoke by phone with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Foreign Minister Park Jin and told them to make sure the British and U.S. contingents, staying in the capital and the U.S. base of Pyeongtaek, safely experience various cultural activities while they remain outside of the jamboree site.

Having left the campsite, the British contingent will visit war memorials in and around Seoul to pay tributes to British veterans of the 1950-53 Korean War, the veterans ministry said on Aug. 6.

The ministry said it proposed the tribute program after learning that the British scouts were looking for things to do after leaving Saemangeum.