Yoon Orders Declaration of Special Disaster Zones for 10 Cities, Counties, and Districts Affected by Wildfires

Idowoon Spokesperson Written Briefing
Targets: Chungnam Hongseong-gun, Geumsan-gun, Dangjin-si, Boryeong-si, Buyeo-gun
Daejeon Seo-gu, Chungbuk Okcheon-gun, Jeonnam Suncheon-si, Hampyeong-gun, Gyeongbuk Yeongju-si

President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed on the 5th to push for the declaration of special disaster zones in 10 cities, counties, and districts, including Hongseong-gun in Chungnam, which suffered significant damage from the recent simultaneous wildfires.

On the same day, President Yoon ordered the declaration of special disaster zones for 10 cities, counties, and districts, including Hongseong-gun, Geumsan-gun, Dangjin-si, Boryeong-si, Buyeo-gun in Chungnam, Seo-gu in Daejeon, Okcheon-gun in Chungbuk, Suncheon-si and Hampyeong-gun in Jeonnam, and Yeongju-si in Gyeongbuk, according to Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the presidential office, in a written briefing.

A special disaster zone is declared by the president when it is recognized that special national measures are necessary for effective recovery and restoration from large-scale disasters such as fires. Once designated as a special disaster zone, some costs such as housing damage, public facility restoration, and health insurance premiums can be supported by national funds.

Recently, wildfires have broken out simultaneously across the country. In particular, the wildfire in Seobu-myeon, Hongseong-gun, started at 11 a.m. on the 2nd and was extinguished at 4 p.m. on the 4th after 53 hours, destroying about 1,454 hectares of forest, which is five times the size of Yeouido, marking the largest wildfire damage this year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, President Yoon said at the Cabinet meeting the day before, "As dozens of wildfires have broken out simultaneously nationwide, precious forests are being destroyed, and residents' livelihoods are being threatened," adding, "Relevant ministries and local governments should make every effort to quickly extinguish the large wildfires and work harder on wildfire prevention."

He specifically instructed, "Provide emergency support to ensure no inconvenience to the disaster victims, and considering the spring farming season, prepare and promptly implement administrative and financial support measures for village residents."

Later that afternoon, he reiterated, "Since the main fires in Chungnam, Jeonnam, and Gyeongbuk, including Hongseong, have been extinguished, forestry and firefighting authorities should do their best to clean up the remaining embers until the very end."

He also emphasized, "With the spring farming season underway, make thorough efforts for the recovery of disaster victims and damaged facilities," and "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety should take the lead in devising support measures for damaged facilities such as houses and vinyl greenhouses."

[Image source=Yonhap News]