청 "Namwon, Gurye, Naju, Hadong, Hapcheon, and 11 Other Special Disaster Areas Newly Declared" (Comprehensive)

President Moon Jae-in Approves 2nd Special Disaster Area Declaration... Blue House "Plans to Declare Additional Eup, Myeon, Dong Areas"

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Son Seon-hee] President Moon Jae-in has approved the second declaration of special disaster zones for 11 regions including Namwon in Jeonbuk, Gurye and Naju in Jeonnam, and Hadong and Hapcheon in Gyeongnam.

Yoon Jae-kwan, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a briefing at the Chuncheon Press Center on the 13th, "President Moon Jae-in approved the second declaration of special disaster zones this afternoon around 3 PM to support rapid recovery and relief efforts in the southern regions severely affected by the recent heavy rains."

The 11 local governments include Namwon-si in Jeonbuk, Gurye-gun, Gokseong-gun, Damyang-gun, Hwasun-gun, Hampyeong-gun, Yeonggwang-gun, Jangseong-gun, and Naju-si in Jeonnam, as well as Hadong-gun and Hapcheon-gun in Gyeongnam.

View of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Deputy Spokesperson Yoon explained, "A total of 18 local governments have been declared special disaster zones due to the heavy rains, with 7 in the first declaration and 11 in the second."

He added, "Notably, this second declaration was made promptly after the local governments requested the special disaster zone designation, with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conducting an urgent preliminary damage assessment to prioritize whether the criteria for declaration were exceeded."

Deputy Spokesperson Yoon emphasized, "Going forward, the government plans to swiftly proceed with additional declarations for areas where it is uncertain whether the criteria for special disaster zone designation are met, based on damage assessments including eup, myeon, and dong districts. The Moon Jae-in administration will respond with urgency to the affected citizens who are in dire need."

A Blue House official explained, "As President Moon mentioned yesterday, when special disaster zones are designated based on local governments, some areas may not meet the criteria. For those areas, the decision on declaration will be made based on eup, myeon, and dong units, and additional measures will be taken accordingly."