Emergency Inspection of Heavy Rain Chaired at Cabinet Meeting... Kim Kyung-soo Proposes 'Use of Disaster Fund Mandatory Deposits,' Government "Actively Considering"
President Moon Jae-in is receiving a field report via video from ministers and citizens at the recovery site during an emergency heavy rain inspection meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on the 11th. 2020.8.11 [Photo by Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in instructed on the 11th to "swiftly and actively proceed with additional special disaster area declarations and the review of increasing disaster relief funds" in response to the heavy rain damage occurring nationwide, the Blue House announced.
Yoon Jae-kwan, Deputy Spokesperson of the Blue House, conveyed this in a written briefing following the emergency heavy rain inspection Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office Building that day. President Moon pointed out, "While the designation of special disaster areas and the provision of support funds are being carried out more quickly than in the past, during last year's wildfire damage in Gangwon Province, the distribution of public donations managed by private disaster relief associations experienced significant delays due to various procedures, causing distress to those urgently in need," and urged the cabinet to "take active interest so that both the government's disaster relief funds and private public donations are executed promptly to support those affected."
At the emergency heavy rain inspection meeting that day, reports from local government heads in Jeonnam and Gyeongnam, where heavy rain damage was concentrated, on flood recovery site inspections and related ministries' field reports were conducted. Additionally, Minister of the Interior and Safety Jin Young and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki reported on emergency recovery plans and budget support measures.
Minister Jin reported regarding the additional declaration of special disaster areas, "We will promptly proceed with declarations for the southern region's heavy rain damage areas this week and pursue additional declarations based on the results of the Central Disaster Damage Joint Investigation Team's survey within this month." He also stated, "We will actively review allowing the use of mandatory deposits from disaster management funds for damage recovery." The mandatory deposits of disaster management funds are legally required funds accumulated annually by metropolitan or local governments to cover costs related to disaster prevention and recovery.
Earlier, Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo said, "During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, disaster management funds and disaster relief funds were actively utilized for disaster support," adding, "As a result, the current balances of disaster management and disaster relief funds are not substantial, so I request the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to deliberate and approve the use of mandatory deposits from the disaster management fund." According to Governor Kim, Gyeongnam Province's disaster management fund balance is only 500 million KRW, and he is requesting to use approximately 23 billion KRW of legally mandated deposits.
Along with this, Deputy Prime Minister Hong reported, "We will immediately deploy the existing budget and special disaster safety grants to swiftly support emergency relief such as livelihood expenses for disaster victims and emergency restoration of facility damage," and added, "We will also carefully review financial measures to ensure no disruption in financial support for damage recovery."
In this regard, President Moon previously emphasized in his opening remarks, "The key to damage recovery is speed," and urged, "Please mobilize all available resources such as contingency funds and disaster relief funds to secure sufficient financial support."
The meeting was conducted with key participants including Cabinet members and local government heads joining via video conference from Seoul, the Government Sejong Office Building, and flood damage sites.
In the Jeonnam and Gyeongnam regions, where damage from heavy rain was concentrated, Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok and Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo respectively presented damage status and recovery plans. Subsequently, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo reported from Cheorwon, Gangwon; Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Hyun-soo from Gochang, Jeonbuk; Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae from Daechung Dam, Cheongju, Chungbuk; and Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Moon Sung-hyuk from Mokpo, Jeonnam, each reporting on the field situation.
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