Nonsan City Council Member and Department Head Clash Over Causes of Heavy Rain Damage in Ganggyeong-eup

Seo Won, Nonsan City Council

On the 27th, Nonsan City Council member Seo Won (Democratic Party) and the head of the Construction Division of Nonsan City Hall engaged in a heated debate regarding the severe damage caused by heavy rainfall in July in Ganggyeong-eup, Nonsan, Chungnam Province.

Seo argued that the disaster was man-made because the Nangcheong Drainage Pump Station in Ganggyeong-eup did not operate properly at the time, while the division head countered that the city is currently in a lawsuit with the company entrusted with operating the pump station, and only a legal judgment can determine whether it was a natural or man-made disaster.

During the administrative audit of the Construction Division that day, Seo Won stated, "According to the electricity usage records for the Nangcheong Drainage Pump Station received from the Nonsan branch of Korea Electric Power Corporation, there was an electricity usage of 202.86 until 4 p.m. on July 9, but none after that time. This proves the disaster was man-made due to the pump not being operated."

He continued, "This proves that the manager neglected their duties. Since no electricity was used, it was man-made. At that time, there was an enormous amount of rain in Ganggyeong," and pressed, "Is the same management company still in charge now?"

Kim Youngcheon, the head of the Construction Division, responded, "This is not something that can be judged based solely on the data. It could be that the pump was running but could not handle the volume, or it could have shut down. This needs to be comprehensively verified through the lawsuit."

Seo pressed further, "Besides electricity usage, is there anything else? If there are other factors for judgment, tell me."

Kim replied, "As I have mentioned several times, there is an SWMM method used by water resources engineers to analyze the cause of flooding. The company failed to present this, so we proceeded with a lawsuit."

He added, "The KEPCO electricity usage record is only part of the evidence for the lawsuit and cannot be used as a definitive judgment."

Seo countered, "If the drainage pump had been running and flooding still occurred, I would think it was because the rainfall exceeded the pump's capacity. But it wasn't running at all. It wasn't operated from that afternoon until the next morning, was it?"

Kim responded, "Unless the result of the lawsuit is out, I cannot definitively say whether it was man-made or a natural disaster."

Seo insisted, "In my view, the most significant factor is whether the drainage pump was operated or not. This can be objectively proven."

Kim rebutted, "This is a matter to be debated in court with evidence, not something to be concluded in this administrative audit."

Meanwhile, on July 10, more than 100mm of heavy rain per hour fell in the Ganggyeong-eup area of Nonsan, causing severe damage, including the flooding of homes in Chaesan 5-ri.