President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a disaster response meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul on Monday, to deal with torrential rains hitting the country and minimize possible damage. (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday ordered the mobilization of all available resources and policy measures, including designating special disaster zones, to deal with the aftermath of heavy downpours that have left at least 40 people dead and nine others missing.

Yoon made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, just hours after returning home from a weeklong trip to Europe that included visits to Lithuania and Poland and an unannounced stop in Ukraine. (Yonhap)