Jeonbuk Governor Song Ha-jin Proposes 'Nationwide Special Disaster Area Support' to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun Visits Geumgokgyo Embankment Collapse Site and Temporary Shelter for Disaster Victims

Governor Song Ha-jin and Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited the flooded area caused by the collapse of the Seomjin River embankment in Gwiseok-ri, Geumji-myeon, Namwon, which was affected by heavy rain. Photo by Jeonbuk Province

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jae-hee] Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeonbuk, actively requested that the special disaster area designation be applied nationwide rather than to specific regions, as the recent heavy rains have caused damage across the country.

On the 10th, Governor Song proposed to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, who visited Jeonbuk to inspect the damage and recovery status caused by the concentrated heavy rains, that support should be provided nationwide at the level of a special disaster area.

This proposal comes as the cumulative damage nationwide has increased due to the combined effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since early this year and the recent heavy rain damage, intensifying the difficulties faced by all citizens and necessitating special government support.

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung visited the site of the embankment collapse at Geumgokgyo Embankment in Geumji-myeon, Namwon City, which suffered flood damage from the Seomjin River embankment collapse, as well as temporary shelters for disaster victims, to inspect the damage, emergency measures, and recovery plans, and to console the affected residents.

Accompanying Prime Minister Chung at the site, Governor Song said, “As heavy rain damage has occurred nationwide, the largest damage amount in history is expected, and the sense of loss among citizens struggling with COVID-19 is significant. Jeollabuk-do is putting all efforts into damage recovery through public-private cooperation, but now policies that provide citizens with the courage and hope to overcome difficulties are also necessary.”

He continued, “Considering not only Jeollabuk-do, which suffered severe heavy rain damage, but also the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, there is a great need to provide special support nationwide at the level of special disaster area support standards. For this time, the government should minimize the criteria for designating special disaster areas and expand support nationwide.”

Following the flood damage inspection, Prime Minister Chung visited the Munhwa Nuri Center in Geumji-myeon, Namwon City, to offer words of comfort to the temporarily evacuated disaster victims and pledged to spare no effort to enable their return home as soon as possible.

The flood-affected area in Geumji-myeon, Namwon City, suffered significant damage on the afternoon of the 8th when the Seomjin River embankment collapsed, flooding 477 households and approximately 1,100 hectares of farmland and vinyl greenhouses in Geumji-myeon, Songdong-myeon, and Daegang-myeon.

As a result of this damage, 710 disaster victims are temporarily evacuated to the Munhwa Nuri Center in Geumji-myeon and nearby schools.

In the Jeonbuk region, an average cumulative rainfall of 338.3mm was recorded between the 7th and 9th, with concentrated heavy rains of 432.6mm in Namwon and 544.4mm in Sunchang, causing a total of 1,094 damages including 51 road damages, 99 landslides, and 685 flooded houses.