Seoul Dongjak, Gyeonggi Uiwang and 5 Other Local Governments Added to 'Special Disaster Areas'

Relief of Financial Burden by Converting 50-80% of Restoration Costs to National Funding

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Based on the results of the central joint investigation of the heavy rain damage areas, the government has additionally designated seven local governments, including Dongjak-gu and Seocho-gu in Seoul, Yeoju-si in Gyeonggi Province, Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon Province, and some myeon and dong areas in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, as special disaster zones, as the damage amount met the declaration criteria.

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On the 1st, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced that Dongjak-gu and Seocho-gu in Seoul, and Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon Province will be declared at the city/county/district level, while Uiwang-si and Yongin-si in Gyeonggi Province and Boryeong-si in Chungnam Province will be declared at the eup/myeon/dong level. Yeoju-si in Gyeonggi Province, where two myeon were previously declared special disaster zones, will be expanded to cover the entire city area.

The local governments newly designated as special disaster zones will have part of their restoration costs (50-80%) borne by the central government, reducing their financial burden, similar to the previously declared areas.

In particular, the government plans to provide support funds for damages to private facilities such as houses and small business owners by the same standards regardless of whether the area is declared a special disaster zone, aiming to help all affected residents recover and return to normal life before Chuseok. Support for the local government’s share of restoration costs for public facilities through the Disaster and Safety Special Tax will also be extended to areas not declared as special disaster zones.

Meanwhile, the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters convened a meeting on August 29 and approved a 2 million won support fund for small business owners who suffered damage from flooding due to the heavy rain. As a follow-up, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety urgently allocated 59.4 billion won in central government funds to local governments for support payments to small business owners and damages to private facilities such as houses and crops.

Lee Sang-min, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, “I hope this additional designation of special disaster zones will help stabilize the affected areas,” and added, “We will do our best to promptly prepare and finalize recovery plans and ensure that funding measures for restoration costs are swiftly implemented.”