Government Says No Additional Budget for Flood Damage... "Mobilizing All Available Resources, Prioritizing Recovery"

As the government is busy managing the damage situation nationwide caused by the heavy rains, it has once again drawn a line against the opposition party's demand for an additional supplementary budget (추경). The current policy is to focus on supporting damage recovery using available resources and to consider deploying contingency funds if necessary. However, there are opinions that if the damage worsens due to additional heavy rains forecasted this week, pressure from the opposition party for a supplementary budget will intensify.

According to the government on the 23rd, the area of farmland flooded by this year's heavy rains reached 35,068.4 hectares as of 6 a.m. on the 21st. This is 121 times the size of Yeouido (290 hectares). As of 11 a.m. on the 22nd, there have been 47 deaths and 3 missing persons due to human and facility damage. Additionally, 59.0 hectares of agricultural facilities were damaged. As crop damage from the heavy rains increases, food prices are also soaring. The wholesale price of red leaf lettuce (product) rose by 98.3% to 83,520 KRW for 4 kg as of the 21st, and green leaf lettuce (product) also increased by 144.7% to 90,360 KRW for 4 kg.

The reason the government is drawing a line against the supplementary budget amid record-breaking heavy rains causing extensive crop and human damage is due to concerns that adding resources by borrowing in a year of tax revenue shortfall could further increase national debt pressure. Another reason is that the property damage amount from this disaster is not as large compared to past events such as Typhoon Rusa in 2002 (damage amounting to 4.1 trillion KRW) and Typhoon Maemi in 2003 (about 3 trillion KRW).

The problem is that with climate change causing increasingly unpredictable weather anomalies, the possibility of additional damage cannot be ruled out immediately. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, rain is forecast to continue until the 24th in most regions nationwide, including 50-120 mm in Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, 30-80 mm in Daejeon, Sejong, and inland Chungcheong, and 50-100 mm in Gwangju and Jeonnam. The opposition party has also demanded swift action for flood damage recovery. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The worsening livelihood economy has encountered even greater difficulties due to this flood," repeatedly urging the formation of a supplementary budget.

In response, the government plans to focus immediately on damage recovery. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, after inspecting flood recovery areas recently, emphasized, "There is no reason to delay with a supplementary budget," and stated, "We will swiftly support flood recovery by mobilizing all available government resources such as disaster and accident countermeasure funds and contingency funds."

First, compensation plans will be prepared to enable affected farmers to return quickly, and support will be provided for disaster recovery payments for flooded crops and livestock, as well as replacement of flooded facilities and equipment. The speed of payment for crop disaster insurance will be accelerated to ensure payments within one month from the application date, and drainage facility improvements will be undertaken in affected areas. Additionally, tax and administrative conveniences such as extensions for tax filing and payment deadlines for flood victims will be supported. To address concerns about soaring food prices, discounts of up to 30% will be provided for items such as lettuce and spinach, and 30,000 tons of chicken will be fully imported next month under a tariff quota. Plans also include supporting loans worth 80 billion KRW for the import of 5 million hatching eggs and chick stocking.