Rep. Park Soohyun: "Pushing for Full Restoration Funding from the National Budget for Cultural Heritage Damaged by Natural Disasters"

Proposal for Partial Amendment to the Act on the Preservation and Utilization of Cultural Heritage

A legislative amendment is being promoted to fully support the restoration costs with national funds when nationally designated cultural heritage is damaged due to natural disasters.

On the 14th, National Assembly member Park Soo-hyun (Democratic Party of Korea, Gongju, Buyeo, Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province) announced that he had proposed a partial amendment to the Act on the Preservation and Utilization of Cultural Heritage, focusing on this issue.

According to Park, the current law states that "the state may subsidize all or part of the expenses when nationally designated cultural heritage is damaged," but in practice, restoration costs are usually supported at a ratio of "70% national funds and 30% local funds" according to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Management of Subsidies.

However, there have been many recent cases where nationally designated cultural heritage has been unexpectedly damaged by natural disasters such as fires and floods caused by abnormal weather conditions.

In July of this year, an average of 323mm of rain fell over three days due to heavy rainfall in Buyeo County, South Chungcheong Province, causing damage to major cultural assets such as Naseong, Daejosa, and Garimseong. Local governments with low financial independence often find it difficult to urgently secure restoration funds, resulting in cultural heritage restoration being deprioritized.

Park intends to revise the law by establishing a new provision that requires the full cost of restoring nationally designated cultural heritage damaged by natural disasters such as fires and floods to be covered by national funds, allowing the state to safely manage designated cultural heritage regardless of the financial independence of local governments.

Park stated, "It is very regrettable that the value of cultural heritage is diminished because it cannot be repaired in time due to the low financial independence of local governments, especially as cases of damage from abnormal weather are occurring frequently," and added, "With the proposal of this amendment, we will strengthen the state's responsibility for the preservation of cultural heritage and do our utmost to protect its value."