President Yoon Declares Special Disaster Zones for Wildfires in 10 Areas Including Hongseong (Comprehensive)

"Support for Swift Return to Daily Life for Affected Residents"

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.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, in a written briefing, President Yoon gave the directive on the morning of the same day to declare special disaster zones in 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.

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. Approximately 1,454 hectares of forest, equivalent to five times the area of Yeouido, were destroyed, marking the largest wildfire damage recorded this year.

President Yoon urged Han Chang-seop, acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, to "support the affected residents so they can quickly return to their daily lives, and ensure thorough restoration projects and safety measures to prevent secondary damage such as landslides in the wildfire areas during the summer rainy season."

Meanwhile, the government plans to conduct damage assessments for the special disaster zones through a joint effort of related ministries including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Forest Service, and to calculate and provide specific national funding for forest and housing damage restoration, the spokesperson added.