In light of the increasingly serious international situation, the Korean government ordered all staff assigned to the Office of the President at Cheong Wa Dae to report for regular duty on March 2, even though Monday was a designated holiday in Korea—the March 1st Movement anniversary falling on the previous Sunday. The stated purpose was to maintain an emergency response posture and ensure full preparedness.

The directive was issued on Sunday evening, March 1, by Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik while President Lee Jae Myung was en route to his state visit to Singapore. Accordingly, Chief of Staff Kang presided over the weekly operations meeting on Monday afternoon, March 2, to review current issues and assess the overall situation.

At the meeting, Kang received detailed briefings on media and on-the-ground developments related to the Middle East situation, the state of global supply chains, international energy prices, and trends in domestic and overseas financial markets. He also reviewed the response plans and specific measures being prepared by the "Joint Emergency Response Task Force" chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, and closely examined the government's current assessment of the Middle East situation and the status of measures already taken.

After receiving situation reports from the relevant secretariat offices, Chief of Staff Kang instructed all related ministries to maintain a seamless emergency response posture, monitoring from multiple angles the possibility of a prolonged crisis and its potential impact on the Korean economy. He placed particular emphasis on the fact that the President is currently abroad on an overseas tour, stressing that the entire public service must remain especially alert and prepared to respond without disruption under any emergency circumstances.

Kang also urged that protecting the safety and lives of Korean nationals currently in the Middle East be treated as the top priority, and repeatedly stressed the need to spare no effort in ensuring the security of all Korean citizens overseas.

The Blue House has stated that it will continue to work in close coordination with relevant ministries and implement all necessary measures until the situation stabilizes.

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Cheong Wa Dae press release translated by AI, edited by David Kendall