Jeonnam Region Flood Damage Recovery Fund Confirmed at 162.5 Billion Won

Early Deployment of Disaster Relief Funds and Swift Recovery Efforts

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The recovery cost of 162.5 billion KRW for damages caused by the heavy rain that continued from the 5th to the 8th in the Jeonnam region was finally confirmed at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 1st, during the recent heavy rain, a large amount of rainfall was recorded mainly along the southern coast of Jeonnam, with Haenam recording 535mm, Jangheung 469mm, Jindo 458mm, and Gangjin 362mm of record-breaking precipitation.

A total damage amount of 30.4 billion KRW occurred. The three counties of Haenam, Gangjin, and Jangheung, which suffered severe damage, and four eup/myeon areas of Jindo County?Jindo-eup, Gunnae-myeon, Gogeun-myeon, and Jisan-myeon?were declared special disaster zones on July 22.

It was unusually designated swiftly within 13 days from the disaster end date, which is analyzed as an achievement made through collaboration between Jeonnam Province, the central government, and the political sector.

The recovery project costs by region are 60.5 billion KRW for Haenam, 22.6 billion KRW for Gangjin, 20 billion KRW for Jangheung, 26.9 billion KRW for Jindo, and 32.5 billion KRW for other cities and counties, totaling 162.5 billion KRW. This accounts for 90% of the total recovery amount of 180.4 billion KRW nationwide across cities and provinces.

An additional 23.5 billion KRW in national funds (1.3 billion KRW for Jangheung, 2.4 billion KRW for Gangjin, 12.9 billion KRW for Haenam, and 6.9 billion KRW for Jindo) was provided to the four counties declared as special disaster zones, reducing the local government’s financial burden.

Jeonnam Province plans to promptly provide disaster relief funds of 31.5 billion KRW to approximately 24,000 local residents who suffered damages in human lives, housing, and agriculture and fisheries sectors due to the heavy rain, to stabilize their livelihoods quickly.

Earlier, Governor Kim Young-rok of Jeonnam Province swiftly inspected the flood damage sites in Gwangyang, Jangheung, Gangjin, Haenam, and Jindo about 15 times, comforting residents and merchants.

In particular, to ensure rapid recovery of damages, he strongly requested the declaration of special disaster zones to the Blue House, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, among the political circles.

He also actively requested the central government to include damage amounts of agricultural, livestock, and fisheries products when selecting national treasury support target areas and to reflect actual transaction prices in the support unit costs for recovery expenses, urging improvements in disaster recovery-related systems.

To help the recovery of abalone farming households in Gangjin, Jindo, and other areas with significant fisheries damage, he proposed to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries support for seedling stocking costs and abalone net replacement project expenses, securing 3.2 billion KRW in national funds in this government supplementary budget.

Governor Kim said, “I deeply thank the President and the government for their efforts in the swift declaration of special disaster zones and the establishment of damage recovery plans,” adding, “We will promptly restore the flood-affected areas so that the residents can return to their daily lives as soon as possible.”