"If You’re Confident, Try Destroying the Bo" The Four Major Rivers Effect Debate with Pro-Park Faction Joining In

Lee Jae-oh "If the 16 weirs of the Four Major Rivers were not built, half the country would have been flooded"
Kwon Seong-dong "Moon subtly disses the Four Major Rivers... Destroy it and take responsibility for the results"

On the 11th, part of Hwamyung Ecological Park in Buk-gu, Busan, remains submerged due to recent heavy rains. The flood advisory issued for the Gupo area in Buk-gu, Busan, located downstream of the Nakdong River, has been lifted. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] As some pro-Lee (former President Lee Myung-bak) figures claim that the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project minimized flood damage caused by heavy rain, political debates over the flood prevention effects of the Four Major Rivers dams are intensifying.

Lee Jae-oh, a former lawmaker known as the leader of the pro-Lee faction, wrote on his Facebook on the 11th, "Please visit the site before speaking. Do not distort the failure of real estate policies by blaming the Four Major Rivers," and claimed, "If the 16 dams of the Four Major Rivers had not been built during this rain, half of the country would have been submerged."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the United Future Party and former special minister during the Lee Myung-bak administration, also said in a phone interview with 'Yonhap News' on the same day, "You can't tell just by looking whether the Four Major Rivers help with floods or not."

Independent lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, also from the pro-Lee faction, raised his voice on Facebook the same day, saying, "If you are confident in preventing droughts and floods, immediately destroy the Four Major Rivers dams."

He argued, "President Moon asked to investigate the correlation between the Four Major Rivers dams and floods while subtly dissing the Four Major Rivers project. Immediately destroy the dams and take responsibility for the results. This is the way to end the pointless debate surrounding the Four Major Rivers dams."

Seol Hoon, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea (right) / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier on the 10th, the ruling and opposition parties engaged in a heated debate over the flood prevention effects of the Four Major Rivers dams.

On that day, Bae Jun-young, spokesperson for the United Future Party, said in a statement, "There is a growing voice that government policies should be reviewed from a long-term perspective," adding, "While focusing only on dismantling the Four Major Rivers dams, we must also listen to criticisms that systematic and comprehensive water management plans and river maintenance projects have been neglected."

Kim Jong-in, emergency committee chairman of the United Future Party, said at the emergency committee meeting, "There were many controversies about the Four Major Rivers project itself, but after experiencing floods, we cannot help but think that it might not have been a wrong decision."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party immediately refuted the opposition's 're-evaluation of the Four Major Rivers' movement. It pointed out that the Board of Audit and Inspection has repeatedly revealed that the Four Major Rivers project has no flood prevention effect.

Seol Hoon, senior member of the Democratic Party, said at the party's highest committee meeting on the same day, "The Four Major Rivers project was pointed out in the Board of Audit and Inspection as a preparatory work for the Korean Peninsula Grand Canal project rather than a flood prevention project," and criticized, "Since the project has no effect on floods occurring in tributaries and branch streams, environmental groups have insisted from the start that maintenance should begin with tributaries and branch streams."

Meanwhile, the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project was promoted during the Lee Myung-bak administration with a budget of 22 trillion won. The project mainly involved installing large dams and dredging riverbeds to secure water resources and prevent floods.

However, in audits conducted twice during the Park Geun-hye administration in 2013 and the Moon Jae-in administration in 2018, the conclusion was that the project's flood prevention effect was minimal, sparking controversy over its actual effectiveness.