logo
South Korea probe blames sweeping lapses for World Scout Jamboree debacle

South Korea probe blames sweeping lapses for World Scout Jamboree debacle

Yahoo10-04-2025

SEOUL (Reuters) - The failure of the World Scout Jamboree hosted by South Korea in 2023 that ended in chaos was the result of a "complete lapse" in all aspects including the incompetence of the organisers and the site selection, a government probe issued on Thursday concluded.
Dire conditions including overflowing trash bins, dirty toilets, questionable food quality and a bug-infested site with little shade from the sun led some national contingents to pull out early from an event that the opposition party called "a national disgrace of epic scale."
The government's Audit Board in a report found a "complete lapse in all aspects of management including lack of competency and awareness of the organisers exacerbated by poor execution of work led to the failure of the Saemangeum Jamboree."
Saemangeum refers to the area of reclaimed land on the country's west coast where more than 40,000 scouts aged 14-18 camped for the event scheduled over 12 days in August 2023.
The event, which was attended by representatives from 155 countries, saw hundreds fall ill amid a heat wave, prompting complaints from parents over the safety of their children.
The organisers closed down the site early ahead of an approaching typhoon, with thousands of teenage scouts taken by buses to accommodation in and around Seoul to view a hastily arranged K-pop concert.
The 542-page report said the organising committee was headed by a retired public servant at the Ministry of Gender who lacked expertise and staffed mostly by personnel without experience working on large international events.
The Ministry of Gender, which was supervising the organisers, failed in its role to oversee preparations and made a false report to the cabinet ahead of the opening that the event was ready, it said.
Facilities including toilets and showers, power and communication equipment and trash disposal were insufficient and inadequate, and the organisers failed to follow up on questions about preparations, it said.
The Ministry of Gender said it accepted the results of the probe and pledged to take any remedial action needed.
The organising committee, which the ministry said was in the process of dissolution, could not be reached for comment.
The Audit Board referred four individuals for criminal investigation and 12 officials for disciplinary action.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Macron to push for ban on social media for under-15s after school stabbing
Macron to push for ban on social media for under-15s after school stabbing

Yahoo

time28 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Macron to push for ban on social media for under-15s after school stabbing

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron said he would push for European Union regulation to ban social media for children under the age of 15 after a fatal stabbing at a school in eastern France, the latest such violent attack that left the country reeling. Macron said in an interview late on Tuesday that he hoped to see results within the next few months. "If that does not work, we will start to do it in France. We cannot wait," he told the France 2 public broadcaster, hours after a fatal stabbing at a middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Police questioned a 14-year-old student on Tuesday over the knifing of a 31-year-old school aide during a bag search for weapons. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou told parliament the incident was not an isolated case. Macron said social media was one of the factors to blame for violence among young people. Writing on social media platform X after the interview, Macron said such regulation was backed by experts. "Platforms have the ability to verify age. Do it," he wrote. Macron's comments come amid a wave of measures in countries around the world aimed at curbing social media use among children. Australia last year approved a social media ban for under-16s after an emotive public debate, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech. Although most social media do not allow children under 13 to use their platforms, a report by Australia's online safety regulator found children easily bypass such restrictions.

US cities brace for more protests as parts of Los Angeles placed under curfew
US cities brace for more protests as parts of Los Angeles placed under curfew

Yahoo

time43 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

US cities brace for more protests as parts of Los Angeles placed under curfew

By Brad Brooks, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Dietrich Knauth LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Several U.S. cities braced for protests on Wednesday against President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration raids, as parts of the country's second largest city Los Angeles spent the night under curfew in an effort to quell five days of unrest. The Governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard this week, ahead of planned protests. Protesters and police in Austin clashed on Monday. Trump's extraordinary measures of sending National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles has sparked a national debate on the use of military on U.S. soil and pitted the Republican president against California's Democrat governor. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a video address on Tuesday. "He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety. ... Democracy is under assault." Newsom, widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, and the state of California sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from Trump, after he also ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guard to the city. Marines and National Guard are to be used in the protection of government personnel and buildings and not in police action. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployments were not necessary as police could manage the protest, the majority of which have been peaceful, and limited to about five streets. However, due to looting and violence at night she imposed a curfew over one square mile of the city's downtown, starting Tuesday night. The curfew will last several days. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests" were initiated. Police earlier said that 197 people had already been arrested on Tuesday - more than double the total number of arrests to date. Democratic leaders have raised concerns over a national crisis in what has become the most intense flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on opponents who take to the streets in protest. Trump, voted back into office last year largely for his promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honoring soldiers on Tuesday to defend his decision. He told troops at the army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina: "Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness." 'FULL-BLOWN ASSAULT' "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags," Trump said, adding his administration would "liberate Los Angeles." Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. Homeland Security said on Monday its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Protests have also taken place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where demonstrators shouted at and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed onto the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished. Texas Governor Abbott said late on Tuesday that he will deploy the National Guard, which "will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order." "Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest," Abbott posted on X. South Texas organizations are expected to hold anti-ICE rallies on Wednesday and Saturday, CNN reported local media as saying. About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50 km) south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a U.S. official said. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. "Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighborhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law," Bonta said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to redouble the immigration raids in response to the street protests. The last time the military was used for direct police action under the Insurrection Act was in 1992, when the California governor at the time asked President George H.W. Bush to help respond to Los Angeles riots over the acquittal of police officers who beat Black motorist Rodney King.

South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea
South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea

Yahoo

time43 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

South Korea halts loudspeaker broadcasts along border with rival North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's military has shut down loudspeakers broadcasting anti-North Korean propaganda along the inter-Korean border, marking the new liberal government's first concrete step toward easing tensions between the war-divided rivals. The South resumed the loudspeaker broadcasts in June last year following a yearslong pause in retaliation for North Korea flying trash-laden balloons toward the South in a psychological warfare campaign. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Wednesday the move was part of efforts to 'to restore trust in inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula.' North Korea, which is extremely sensitive to any outside criticism of its authoritarian leadership and its third-generation ruler, Kim Jong Un, did not immediately comment on the step by Seoul. From May to November last year, North Korea flew thousands of balloons toward South Korea to drop substances such as wastepaper, cloth scraps, cigarette butts and even manure. The North said its balloon campaign came after South Korean activists sent over balloons filled with anti-North Korean leaflets, as well as USB sticks filled with popular South Korean songs and dramas. Trash carried by at least one North Korean balloon fell on the South Korean presidential compound in July, raising concerns about the vulnerability of key South Korean facilities. Officials said the balloon contained no dangerous material and no one was hurt. South Korea, in response to the North Korean balloons, reactivated its front-line loudspeakers to blast propaganda messages and K-pop songs toward the North. The playlist was clearly designed to strike the nerve of Pyongyang, as Kim's government since the COVID-19 pandemic has been intensifying a campaign to eliminate the influence of South Korean pop culture and language amongst the population in a bid to strengthen his family's dynastic rule. The Cold War-style psychological warfare campaigns added to tensions fueled by North Korea's growing nuclear ambitions and South Korean efforts to expand joint military exercises with the United States and strengthen three-way security cooperation with Japan. South Korea's new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, who took office last week after winning a snap election to replace ousted conservative Yoon Suk Yeol, has vowed to improve relations with Pyongyang, which reacted furiously to Yoon's hardline policies and shunned dialogue. In his inaugural address last week, Lee vowed to reopen communication channels with North Korea to ease tensions. But prospects for an early resumption of dialogue between the rival Koreas remain dim, as North Korea has consistently rejected offers from South Korea and the United States since 2019, when nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang collapsed over sanctions-related disagreements. North Korea's priority in foreign policy is now firmly with Russia, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large amounts of military equipment in recent months for its warfighting in Ukraine. Yoon, who was removed from office in April over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December, had focused on strengthening military partnerships with Washington and Tokyo and on securing stronger U.S. assurances of a swift and decisive nuclear response to defend the South against a North Korean attack. In a fierce reaction to Yoon's policies, Kim in January last year declared that he was abandoning the long-standing goals of a peaceful unification with the South and instructed the rewriting of the North's constitution to cement the South as a permanent 'principal enemy.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store