Projects Related to Flood and Disaster Management Systems
'Inadequate'... Subject to Budget Expenditure Restructuring
Three projects related to flood damage and disasters under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the main disaster management agency, received a 'poor' rating in the disaster safety project evaluation, raising concerns about budget cuts for next year.
According to the '2024 Disaster Safety Project Evaluation Results for Affiliated Projects' submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Rep. Eunhee Jo of the People Power Party on the 13th, the ministry received a 'poor' rating for the Stormwater Runoff Reduction Facility project, the installation of vehicle blocking facilities on flood-prone vulnerable roads, and the operation of the Central Safety Situation Room.
The disaster safety project evaluation is part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's autonomous evaluation of fiscal projects. Projects rated as poor are included in the next year's budget expenditure restructuring targets, requiring a 1% cut of the total evaluated budget. This year, the budget for the stormwater retention facility installation is 71.544 billion KRW, the budget for vehicle blocking facilities on flood-prone vulnerable roads is 13.5 billion KRW, and the budget for operating the Central Safety Situation Room is 7.984 billion KRW.
The stormwater runoff reduction facility is installed to mitigate damage from typhoons, floods, and droughts by allowing rainwater to seep underground or be retained. The poor rating was influenced by the actual execution rate of the project budget (71.8%) and institutional improvement outcomes. A project official also stated, "The low actual execution rate by local governments due to cultural heritage excavations likely affected the rating." The Ministry of the Interior and Safety submitted improvement plans including holding meetings to check execution rates and imposing penalties on districts with poor execution.
In the case of the installation of vehicle blocking facilities on flood-prone vulnerable roads, the installation rate was satisfactory, but the project received low scores in spreading outcomes and linking with higher-level plans. A ministry official said, "In the comprehensive evaluation, the project execution was rated as 100% complete," adding, "It seems the feedback is encouraging us to establish systematic plans from qualitative and administrative perspectives." Although this is a temporary project ending this year, the ministry has applied for an additional budget of about 6 billion KRW as an out-of-limit project, judging that it is necessary.
The operation of the Central Safety Situation Room received a poor rating due to opinions that strengthening the linkage system between local government and central government situation rooms is necessary. In response, an official explained that the ministry has been promoting the 'On-site Video Information System Construction Project' since this year to link on-site video information held by central ministries and local governments to the central situation room to strengthen initial response during disasters. The official emphasized, "The main project expenses evaluated were basic operational costs such as equipment maintenance and communication fees," and added, "The poor rating does not imply an overall deficiency in situation management."
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