South Korean presidential office calls for fire preventive measures following tragedies in Busan

Seoul, July 4 (IANS) The presidential office on Friday called for comprehensive measures to prevent residential fires following recent tragedies in which children died in apartment fires while their parents were away.

On Wednesday, two girls, aged 8 and 6, were found dead after a fire broke out in their apartment in Busan.

The tragedy occurred just days after a similar incident in which two girls, aged 10 and 8, died in a separate apartment fire. In both the cases, the children were home alone without their parents and, the apartments they were in, lacked sprinkler systems.

Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff, urged the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) to work with relevant ministries to assess the situation, identify structural causes behind the recurring incidents and then draw up thorough countermeasures, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

The presidential chief of staff also called for effective measures, including inspections of older apartment buildings not equipped with fire prevention systems and a review of the circumstances of children left unattended at night, Yonhap news agency reported.

OPC Minister Yoon Chang-ryeol held an emergency response meeting shortly afterward and acknowledged the government's responsibility for "failing to protect young lives."

He promised expanded child care support for parents who have to leave their children behind in order to go to work, starting with high-demand neighborhoods and low-income families.

"In particular, we will strengthen child care support services for late-night hours and urgent child care needs," he said.

On apartments that were built before sprinkler systems were mandatory, he said the government will look at ways to install the devices now while drawing up measures to effectively put out fires early and evacuate children and the elderly.

--IANS

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