President Moon Declares 7 Special Disaster Areas Including Anseong, Cheorwon, Chungju, Jecheon, Eumseong, Cheonan, and Asan (Comprehensive)

Special Disaster Area Declared Just 3 Days After Mention at Blue House Meeting... Possibility of Additional Special Disaster Area Declarations

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in has declared seven areas, including Gyeonggi-do, Gangwon-do, and Chungcheong-do, as special disaster zones. The declaration was made three days after President Moon instructed relevant ministries to expedite the procedures.

Yoon Jae-kwan, deputy spokesperson of the Blue House, stated during a briefing at the Chuncheon Press Center on the afternoon of the 7th, "President Moon Jae-in approved the declaration of special disaster zones for areas severely affected by heavy rain at 3:55 PM after deliberation by the Central Safety Management Committee."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The special disaster zones include ▲Anseong-si in Gyeonggi-do ▲Cheorwon-gun in Gangwon-do ▲Chungju-si, Jecheon-si, and Eumseong-gun in Chungbuk ▲Cheonan-si and Asan-si in Chungnam, totaling seven locations.

Deputy spokesperson Yoon said, "This declaration was made within three days following President Moon’s directive on the 4th to promptly declare disaster zones and provide early support. In particular, by cooperating with local governments and the central government to swiftly conduct damage assessments, seven areas that are expected to exceed the special disaster zone declaration threshold were prioritized for designation, enabling rapid support for recovery."

Yoon added, "The government also plans to conduct damage assessments as quickly as possible in areas not included in the special disaster zones and will additionally declare special disaster zones if the criteria are met."

A Blue House official explained, "Regarding the criteria for declaring special disaster zones, there is a national treasury support standard based on the financial capability index of cities, counties, and districts. The range is from 1.8 billion to 4.2 billion KRW, and if the damage exceeds this standard by 2.5 times, a special disaster zone can be declared. Since the flood damage situation has not yet fully ended, the damage scale was tentatively calculated, and because the calculated amount far exceeded the standard, the declaration was made as a priority."