Roof and Car Windows Shattered... 26 Million Won Property Damage in Seoul Metropolitan Area Due to 'Buk Obmul Balloon'

It has been confirmed that property damage worth approximately 26 million KRW occurred in the Seoul metropolitan area due to South Korea-directed filth balloons sent by North Korea since the end of last month.

Balloon carrying waste for South Korea found near Jamsil Bridge (Photo by Yonhap News)

According to data submitted by Seoul City and Gyeonggi Province to Yang Bu-nam, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the scale of damage in the metropolitan area from May 28, when the North Korean filth balloons began to be released, until the 12th of this month, was estimated at about 26,781,000 KRW (20,170,000 KRW in Seoul + 6,611,000 KRW in Gyeonggi Province).

The number of reported cases totaled 14, with 10 in Seoul and 4 in Gyeonggi Province. Among these, 2 cases did not report the amount of damage.

The largest reported damage occurred on the 29th of last month at a logistics center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. At that time, a filth balloon fell onto a car parked at the logistics center, damaging the car roof and causing property damage worth 15,720,000 KRW.

On the 2nd, a filth balloon fell onto a car parked in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, damaging the front passenger window and hood, resulting in damage estimated between 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 KRW. In a multi-family housing complex in Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, three filth balloons fell, damaging the roof and ceiling, causing 4,100,000 KRW in damage.

In Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province, a filth balloon fell onto a vinyl greenhouse, resulting in repair costs of 408,000 KRW.

Despite the continuous damages, there is currently no legal basis to support compensation for damages caused by the North Korean filth balloon releases. Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that once Seoul City and Gyeonggi Province calculate the damage amounts, support will be provided using contingency funds.

Assemblyman Yang stated, "Since North Korea's filth balloons continue to cause direct and indirect harm to the public, the government and political circles should promptly prepare measures to compensate for the damages."