Gwangju City Forms Joint Investigation Team Following Flooding at Saerona Memorial Hall

Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Focus on Damage Control and Cause Investigation to Avoid Adding Grief to Bereaved Families"

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 14th that it will form a "Joint Cause Investigation Team for the Flooding of Saerona Memorial Hall."

This is a follow-up measure after Mayor Lee Yong-seop met with the bereaved families on the 11th regarding the flooding damage to the private memorial hall caused by the heavy rain in the Gwangju area on the 7th and 8th, promising, "We will provide all possible support and cooperation at the local government level so that the families do not carry any resentment in their hearts."

Gwangju City is providing multifaceted support for rapid damage recovery, including restoration of flooded urns and re-cremation support, operation of shuttle buses to Seunghwa-won, establishment of a situation room, and activation of the memorial hall website, under the special directive of Mayor Lee regarding this flooding damage.

In addition, recognizing the seriousness of the situation and to accurately identify the cause of the flooding, Gwangju City decided to form a "Joint Cause Investigation Team for the Flooding of Saerona Memorial Hall," involving Gwangju City, Buk-gu Office, police, and bereaved families.

This is in accordance with Article 9 of the Natural Disaster Countermeasures Act (Investigation and Analysis of Disaster Causes), which states that "the head of the disaster management authority may conduct an investigation and analysis of the cause when a natural disaster occurs in the facilities under their jurisdiction."

The Joint Cause Investigation Team will be led by the Deputy Mayor, who will oversee the investigation, and to ensure credibility, officials from the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, the Audit Committee, and public officials in charge of architecture and facilities will participate. To secure expertise from the early stages of the investigation, external experts recommended by the police will also be involved.

The participation of the bereaved families in the investigation team will be decided at the Bereaved Families Countermeasure Committee meeting scheduled for the 15th, where they will determine direct participation or expert recommendations, and specific details will be subsequently discussed with Gwangju City.

Mayor Lee said, "The flooding of Saerona Memorial Hall is a truly regrettable incident that should never have happened," adding, "We will do our best to promptly carry out damage recovery and cause investigation while respecting the deceased and fully reflecting the requests and wishes of the bereaved families."

He continued, "Following the principle of 'first recovery, then cause identification,' we will focus not only on recovery but also on identifying the cause of the flooding going forward."