Hope Bridge Provides 4.7 Billion KRW in National Donations to 2,361 Flood-Affected Households

The Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association (Chairman Song Pil-ho) announced on the 28th that it will provide relief funds amounting to 4.764 billion KRW from public donations to 2,361 households in 10 regions nationwide that were affected by the heavy rains in September.

An employee of Hope Bridge is greeting flood victims from Goesan County who participated in the continuous care project. Photo by Hope Bridge

The relief funds, which serve as consolation money for victims of natural disasters, are distributed in accordance with the "Donation Goods Management and Operation Regulations" announced by the government. This support follows the revised regulations by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in August, which doubled the payment limits for housing damage and other losses. The payment limits by damage type are as follows: 20 million KRW per bereaved family of deceased or missing persons; 10 million KRW for injuries from grade 1 to 7; 5 million KRW for injuries from grade 8 to 14; 10 million KRW per household for completely destroyed primary residences; 5 million KRW per household for partially destroyed primary residences; 2 million KRW per household for flooded primary residences; and 2 million KRW per household for damage to main livelihood means (agriculture, fishing, forestry, salt farming).

By region, the distribution is as follows: Chungnam 1,488 households, 2.982 billion KRW; Jeonnam 673 households, 1.373 billion KRW; Gyeongnam 123 households, 249 million KRW; Daejeon 30 households, 60 million KRW; Busan 28 households, 59 million KRW; Chungbuk 12 households, 24 million KRW; Gyeonggi 2 households, 4 million KRW; Jeonbuk 2 households, 4 million KRW; Gyeongbuk 2 households, 4 million KRW; Gangwon 1 household, 5 million KRW.

Hope Bridge Donors' Wall located in Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hope Bridge

Song Pil-ho, Chairman of Hope Bridge, said, “We deeply thank everyone who practiced warm sharing to help our neighbors in need,” and added, “We hope this support will bring a small hope and comfort to neighbors struggling due to sudden disasters.”

The relief fund support is based on damage assessments by local governments. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters establishes disaster recovery plans, and local governments input victim and affected household information into the National Disaster Management System (NDMS). This data is then registered in the distribution committee’s allocation system, after which the distribution committee deliberates and approves the payments. The consolation money provided this time includes donations paid to the distribution committee by the Community Chest of Korea under the Disaster Relief Act*.