Environment Minister Visits Hapcheon Flood Site, County Governor Moon Jun-hee Says "K-water Must Compensate"

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae visits flood damage site, explains damage status, and listens directly to the voices of flood victims.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae visited the flood damage site in Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam Province on the 15th along with Park Jae-hyun, President of Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Cho Hyo-seop, Director of Nakdong River Flood Control Office.

On the same day, Minister Cho received a damage report from County Governor Moon Jun-ui at the county office in the morning and then toured the heavily damaged areas such as Yulgok and Ssangchaek-myeon.

Governor Moon Jun-hee stated, "This flood damage is a man-made disaster caused by the insufficient flood response capability of Hapcheon Dam. Despite maintaining a reservoir rate of over 89% during the rainy season, releasing 2,700 tons per second caused tremendous damage in the Hwanggang tributary," and emphasized, "The Water Resources Corporation must take responsible compensation."

Jo Soo-il, Director of the Planning and Budget Office, said, "Hapcheon-gun suffered about 12.3 billion won in damages due to the destruction of public facilities including five soccer stadiums from this flood, and disruptions to national soccer tournaments and winter training camps are inevitable," adding, "Hapcheon is the mecca of soccer, and if recovery is not prompt, the economic losses will be enormous," requesting swift recovery support.

Minister Cho responded, "We will initiate an investigation into whether dam management was appropriate during the flood season and identify and improve existing problems."