6-Night 8-Day Tour Return Followed by Immediate Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
Criticism of Poor Management and Inadequate Measures... "Perception Must Be Overhauled"
Visit to Yecheon, Gyeongbuk, Site of Large-Scale Human and Property Damage
President Yoon Suk-yeol returned on the 17th after his visits to Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, and immediately received a briefing on the heavy rain situation and countermeasures before visiting the damage sites. The government has initiated follow-up procedures, including the declaration of special disaster zones, to ensure rapid recovery work and support for the victims.
On the morning of the same day, President Yoon visited the landslide damage site and temporary housing facilities for disaster victims in Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon-gun, Gyeongbuk Province, to listen to the requests of the victims. Jinpyeong-ri in Yecheon is one of the areas most severely affected by the heavy rain in terms of human casualties and property damage. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of the morning of the day, there were 40 deaths due to the heavy rain, including 9 deaths in Yecheon alone caused by landslides and flooding on the 15th. A landslide warning has been issued for the nearby Bonghwa-gun in Gyeongbuk Province as well, and heavy rain of 30 to 60 mm per hour is forecast from the morning of the day until the night of the 18th, raising the possibility of additional damage.
Wearing a green civil defense uniform and sneakers, President Yoon entered the village and visited a private house, meeting residents who were removing soil and debris that had covered their homes, saying, "Thank you for your hard work." Pointing to the rocks and soil piled along the roadside, he asked, "They came pouring down. Did these also come down from up there?" He also encouraged police officers restoring private homes and military personnel repairing embankments by saying, "Thank you for your hard work." President Yoon instructed the presidential office staff accompanying him, "Don’t just film me; make sure to capture the entire surroundings (the site)."
President Yoon then visited the Beolbang-ri Senior Welfare Center, which is being used as a temporary shelter for disaster victims. There, he met about 20 grandmothers in their 80s and 90s and said, "Oh my, oh my, you must have been so frightened."
He comforted them, saying, "I am also at a loss. When I heard about the landslide overseas, I thought it was just the mountains behind the houses collapsing and covering the homes, but seeing hundreds of tons of rocks rolling down the mountain like this is something I have never seen in my life. You must have been very shocked." President Yoon added, "It’s cramped and uncomfortable here, but please bear with it a little longer. Please eat well," and reassured them, "The government will restore everything. Please don’t worry too much."
Earlier that morning at 8:30 a.m., President Yoon personally presided over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. He bowed his head and said, "I cannot hold back my sorrow and grief," and "I pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in this heavy rain and offer my condolences to their bereaved families." He urged the government, "Recognize the current situation with utmost seriousness and mobilize all available resources, including the military and police," and requested, "Please make every effort on-site to ensure that rescue operations are carried out swiftly."
He particularly criticized that the casualties from this heavy rain were caused by "poor management of dangerous areas" and "insufficient preemptive evacuation measures," and instructed, "We must always treat climate change as a normal occurrence and respond accordingly," and "Completely overhaul the mindset that 'this is an abnormal phenomenon, so it can’t be helped.'"
President Yoon also urged the promotion of follow-up procedures such as the declaration of special disaster zones to ensure rapid recovery work and support for the victims. Since the flood damage situation is severe and there are no disagreements among the presidential office, government, and both ruling and opposition parties regarding the declaration of special disaster zones, the procedures are expected to proceed quickly. This heavy rain damage is the largest scale in 12 years since the 2011 landslide on Umyeonsan Mountain, which resulted in 78 deaths or missing persons.
A special disaster zone can be declared by the president for local governments that have suffered large-scale accidents or disasters requiring government-level accident management, following damage assessments, deliberations by the Central Safety Management Committee (chaired by the Prime Minister), and recommendations from the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Interior and Safety).
Areas declared as special disaster zones receive partial national funding for damage recovery costs, and residents are provided with support along with reductions in taxes and electricity bills. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, special disaster zones have been declared for natural disasters such as heavy rain in August last year, Typhoon Hinnamnor in September, and heavy snowfall in January 2023.
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