Jung Jin-seok: "If Not the Four Major Rivers Project, Geum River Would Have Flooded... A Major Disaster Almost Happened"

Geumgang Flooding Near Disaster
"Four-Year Plan Needed," Claims
Board of Audit and Inspection Announces Four Major Rivers Audit Results

On the 17th, Jeong Jin-seok, a member of the People Power Party, commented on the damage caused by the heavy rain, saying, "I believe that the dredging of the riverbed through the Four Major Rivers Project significantly increased the water capacity, which helped prevent the flooding of the Geum River."

At the flood damage site in Gongju City, Chungnam Province, visited by the People Power Party leadership that day, Jeong said, "If the Four Major Rivers Project had not been carried out, a major disaster caused by the flooding of the Geum River would have occurred."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong represents the constituencies of Gongju City, Buyeo County, and Cheongyang County in Chungnam, areas severely affected by the recent heavy rain. He argued that since human casualties and various damages to facilities and crops were concentrated in the Chungnam region, the Geum River and Yeongsan River weir projects should be reinitiated.

Jeong added, "Since the 'tributary and stream maintenance project,' which is the post-Four Major Rivers Project, is included in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's plan, it should have been continued," and said, "I think the Yoon Seok-yeol administration should establish a four-year plan to promote it."

Park Dae-chul, the chairman of the Policy Committee, responded, "Last week, we held working-level meetings with related ministries regarding tributary maintenance."

He said, "Because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport could not demolish the Four Major Rivers weirs, the Ministry of Environment took over that task during the Moon Jae-in administration," adding, "Restoration to the original state is necessary. Water resource management should be handled by the Ministry of Environment, but overall management should be returned to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."

Jeong described the situation, saying, "We were rescuing people by boat. Cultural assets were all damaged, and hundreds of thousands of poultry died," and added, "Members of the volunteer fire brigade carried out all the rescues."

Next week, the Board of Audit and Inspection is scheduled to announce the results of its audit on the Four Major Rivers Project. It is reported that on the 14th, the Board notified the Ministry of Environment of the audit results regarding the decision process to dismantle and permanently open the Geum and Yeongsan River weirs during the Moon Jae-in administration, which was conducted following a request from the 'Four Major Rivers National Coalition,' led by Lee Jae-oh, a senior advisor of the People Power Party.

The Board of Audit and Inspection is also known to have requested a prosecution investigation into former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung for improperly intervening in the composition of the 'Four Major Rivers Investigation and Evaluation Planning Committee,' which provided foundational research when the National Water Management Committee decided on the handling of the Geum and Yeongsan River weirs in January 2021. The audit results are expected to be officially announced as early as the 20th.