Gyeongbuk Province and Affiliated Institution Executives Sacrifice Weekend Holidays to Sweat Over Flood Recovery Efforts

On the 5th and 6th of last month, senior officials from the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government and its affiliated organizations gave up their holidays and worked tirelessly under the continuous heatwave to visit the flood damage sites left by the recent heavy rains.

On the 5th, about 80 senior public officials from the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government helped with flood recovery efforts at the flood-damaged Omija berry fields in Sanbuk-myeon, Mungyeong, by removing soil and clearing debris.

Senior officials of Gyeongbuk Province are carrying out flood recovery work by moving trees uprooted by heavy rain.

On that day, senior officials of grade 4 and above, including Kim Hak-hong, Deputy Governor, Kim Min-seok, Director of Policy Office, and Lee Young-seok, Director of Disaster Safety Office, were divided into three teams to provide support to the affected residents in Kimyong-ri and Naehwa-ri, Sanbuk-myeon, Mungyeong City, so they could return to their daily lives as soon as possible.

Kim Hak-hong, Deputy Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “The recent monsoon caused significant damage to the northern region of Gyeongbuk, including Mungyeong. We are mobilizing all administrative resources to help the victims return to normal life quickly. Compared to the anxious hearts of the affected residents, not resting for a day over the weekend is nothing.”

On the 6th, more than 100 senior staff members from 27 affiliated organizations of Gyeongbuk Province visited Mungyeong to continue flood recovery activities.

Starting early in the morning, they went to Suhyeong 2-ri, Dongno-myeon, Mungyeong, where they removed soil and cleared piles of debris from farmlands flooded by heavy rain, working so hard in the hot weather that they did not even notice their clothes becoming soaked with sweat.

Lee Jae-hyuk, President of Gyeongbuk Development Corporation; Yoo Cheol-gyun, Director of Gyeongbuk Research Institute; Ha Geum-sook, Director of the Women’s Policy Development Institute; Jung Woo-seok, Director of the Agricultural Products Distribution Education Promotion Institute; Lee Seung-jong, CEO of the Saemaul Foundation; and Park Soo-hyung, Director of the Gyeongbuk Transportation Culture Training Center also participated in the flood recovery efforts.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “Protecting the lives and property of the residents is the duty of public officials. There are no holidays,” and urged, “I ask senior public officials responsible for provincial administration to share the pain of the residents on site and listen more closely to their voices.”

The recent heavy rains caused 33 casualties (25 deaths, 2 missing, 6 hospitalized) in the northern region of Gyeongbuk, and inflicted massive damage including 2,028 public facilities, 713 private facilities, 4,904 hectares of crops and agricultural facilities damaged or flooded, and the death of 123,630 livestock.

As of the 4th, 49,339 personnel and 20,290 pieces of equipment have been deployed for search operations for missing persons and flood recovery, and about 92% of public facilities such as roads, rivers, and water supply and sewage systems have been restored.