Cheong Wa Dae says President Lee received report on Daegu collapse while golfing, ordered all-out rescue effort

Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday that President Lee Jae Myung had visited a golf course with his family on Saturday and received a report there on a commercial building ceiling collapse in Daegu, after which he ordered relevant agencies to move swiftly on rescue operations and accident response.

The presidential spokesperson's office said in a press notice that Lee had visited the Taereung golf course with his family on Saturday and was briefed on the ceiling collapse at a commercial building in Daegu while on site.

Cheong Wa Dae said Lee then spoke directly with Kim Jong-cheol, acting commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, receiving a detailed briefing on casualties, fatalities and the extent of injuries, before directing relevant agencies to devote all efforts to rescuing survivors and ensure a swift and safe response to the accident.

On the decision to disclose the president's private schedule — something it does not normally do — Cheong Wa Dae said the exception was made "to prevent unnecessary controversy over undisclosed holiday plans."

Cheong Wa Dae added that it "regrets the use of the president's private, undisclosed schedule as fodder for political sparring."