Gyeongbuk Province Donates $100,000 to Turkey Earthquake Relief Fund

Lee Cheol-woo Governor: "The Brother Nation That Made the Republic of Korea Possible"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-seon] Gyeongbuk Province will donate $100,000 in relief funds to T?rkiye, which is suffering from an earthquake disaster.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, decided to urgently provide $100,000 in relief funds to T?rkiye, which is experiencing difficulties due to the earthquake that occurred on the 6th.

The earthquake occurred at around 4:17 a.m. on the 6th in Gaziantep, T?rkiye, near the Syrian border, resulting in an estimated 21,000 deaths and 78,000 injuries (as of February 9 local time). In the worst case, the number of casualties is expected to reach 200,000.

T?rkiye is called the "brother country" that sent the fourth largest scale of troops during the Korean War, making today’s Republic of Korea possible. Gyeongbuk Province has maintained friendly exchanges by signing a sisterhood agreement with the Turkish city of Bursa in 2001.

In 2013, the province co-hosted the Gyeongju World Culture Expo in Istanbul, further strengthening the special ties between Gyeongsangbuk-do and T?rkiye.

This donation is supported using contingency funds based on the Ordinance on the Promotion of International Exchange and Cooperation of Gyeongsangbuk-do and will be made indirectly through the Korean Red Cross emergency relief account.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, “I extend my deepest condolences to the people of T?rkiye who are in great shock and sorrow,” and added, “I hope that search and rescue and recovery efforts proceed smoothly so that the earthquake damage can be restored as soon as possible.”

On the afternoon of the 10th local time, emergency recovery work is underway as buildings in the city of Antakya, Hatay, Turkey, have collapsed due to an earthquake. [Image source=Yonhap News]