"Record-Breaking Typhoon Demands 'Super Strong Recovery'... Ok Yuseok, Gijang County Mayor, 'Went to Seoul'"

Oh County Governor: Cannot Withstand Tsunamis, Strong Earthquakes, and Super Typhoons Caused by Climate Change According to Textbook Standards
Visited the Prime Minister's Office on the 16th Afternoon, Requesting to Declare Gijang-eup Coast a Special D

On the 16th, Ok Yu-seok, the mayor of Gijang County, met with Koo Yoon-chul, the Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, at the Government Complex Seoul. After the meeting, he delivered the "Appeal from Residents of Gijang-eup Coastal Area to Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun for the Declaration of a Special Disaster Area," which reflects the earnest voices of 170,000 Gijang residents requesting the coastal area of Gijang-eup to be declared a special disaster zone. He also submitted the "Request for National Budget Support for Recovery Projects from Typhoon Maysak (No. 9) and Typhoon Haishen (No. 10) Damages, and for Local Development Projects Including the Urban Rail Lines Jeonggwan Line and Gijang Line."

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] June 16 is a ‘Seoul business trip’ day for Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan’s Gijang County.

Oh’s ‘Seoul business trip’ is well known among county office officials and the people of Gijang. It usually means one of two things: going to appeal to the central government or going to protest in Seoul.

When an important issue arises that Gijang County cannot handle on its own or when securing major local projects, the responsible officials do not need to discuss the matter in detail; they simply say, “The mayor went to Seoul.”

On that day, Oh first visited the Government Complex Seoul in Jongno-gu at 1 p.m. He presented the ‘Request for National Funding for Typhoon Damage Recovery Projects for Typhoon Maysak (No. 9) and Typhoon Haishen (No. 10), and for Local Development Projects Including the Urban Railway Jeonggwan Line and Gijang Line’ during a meeting with Koo Yoon-chul, the Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

He explained the typhoon damage situation in Gijang County and local development projects. He also conveyed the residents’ urgent on-site plea to declare the coastal area of Gijang-eup a special disaster zone. He handed over the ‘Residents’ Appeal to Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun for the Declaration of a Special Disaster Zone in the Coastal Area of Gijang-eup.’

In the appeal, Oh wrote, “For the unprecedentedly strong typhoons and storm surges we experienced, ‘super-strong’ recovery is necessary. The existing textbook standards and criteria cannot prepare us for storm surges, strong earthquakes, and super typhoons caused by climate change. Damage recovery for coastal areas requires a more robust and safer ‘super-strong’ design and construction.”

He continued, “Support from the central government and permanent measures for typhoon damage recovery are urgently needed. Especially, the damage in the coastal area of Gijang-eup is very severe. On behalf of the 170,000 residents of Gijang County, I earnestly appeal to Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun to declare the coastal area of Gijang-eup a special disaster zone and to establish stronger and safer coastal safety facilities.”

It was fortunate that a senior official at the Prime Minister’s Office received Mayor Oh; if the meeting had been refused under some pretext, it would not be hard to imagine the county head holding a one-person protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.