Yisang-il, Mayor of Yongin, Appeals to Government and Political Circles to Pay Attention to Farmers and Small Business Owners Affected by Heavy Snowfall

Declaration of Special Disaster Area, Urgent Request for Rapid Disaster Relief Fund Support
"It Is Every Public Official's Responsibility to Revive Livelihoods"

Lee Sang-il, mayor of Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, appealed to the government and political circles to take active interest in supporting farmers and small business owners affected by the heavy snowfall at the end of last month.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, is visiting farms affected by heavy snowfall in the area to assess the damage. The mayor urged the government and political circles to pay attention to support affected farmers and small business owners. Provided by Yongin City

On the 5th, Mayor Lee urged the government through an emergency press release to declare the heavy snowfall-affected areas as special disaster zones, provide rapid disaster relief funds, and expand financial support for farmers and small business owners.

Mayor Lee said, "I visited 16 major heavy snowfall-affected areas over five days after the snowstorm, and the damage is so severe that it is hard to put into words," adding, "I earnestly ask the government, the National Assembly, and political parties to properly assess the damage caused by the heavy snowfall and help the affected farmers and small business owners regain the strength and courage to stand back up."

According to the city, Yongin recorded a cumulative snowfall of 47.5 cm over two days from the 27th to the 28th of last month. Due to this heavy snowfall, as of 5 p.m. the previous day, 2,638 vinyl greenhouses collapsed in 1,292 facility vegetable and flower farms in the Yongin area. Additionally, 275 livestock barns and fish farms collapsed in 144 livestock and aquaculture farms, and 2,993 facilities, including 80 mushroom cultivation and landscaping tree facilities, collapsed in 38 mushroom cultivation and landscaping tree farms. Along with this, 234,000 poultry and 830 million fish died, resulting in damages exceeding 32.1 billion KRW. In the Baekam grape farming group, which includes 21 farms, 41,319 square meters of vineyards, accounting for 73% of the total cultivation area, were completely destroyed.

Damage to small business owners and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) was also significant. The city explained that 8.2 billion KRW in losses occurred due to roof or tent damage in 97 small business establishments, and 159 SMEs experienced collapses of temporary structures such as factories and warehouses. The city is concerned that under the current circumstances, damage recovery at the individual farm level is practically impossible, and the scale of damage is expected to increase over time.

Mayor Lee expressed, "It is regrettable that all other issues have fallen out of the sight of the National Assembly and political circles due to the aftermath of the emergency decree, and the government seems to be in chaos and inactive," adding, "However, since it is the responsibility of all public officials to save people's livelihoods, I urge the government and political circles to pay attention to the heavy snowfall sites and the affected farmers and small business owners and to extend more active support."

Mayor Lee stated, "We plan to mobilize all available resources to support the affected farms, but there are limits to what the city can do alone," adding, "We need the government and political circles to pool wisdom, as well as assistance from the NongHyup (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation), citizen volunteer groups, and companies."

Mayor Lee particularly urged the government to expedite the declaration of special disaster zones, disaster relief fund support, and financial assistance. He said, "To provide disaster relief funds to affected farms this year, national and provincial budgets must be decided first, after which the city can secure funds through the fourth supplementary budget," adding, "I hope the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will promptly decide the support amount, considering the difficult circumstances of those affected."

Once declared a special disaster zone, farmers and fishermen in the area will receive priority loans, repayment deferrals, extended repayment deadlines, interest reductions, and electricity fee discounts for farming, fishing, facilities, and operating funds, as well as for SMEs' facilities and operating funds. Mayor Lee also said that the government and the NongHyup Central Association should actively review and ensure that support is provided.

Mayor Lee also called for improvements to related systems in light of this heavy snowfall. He pointed out that the standards for facility demolition costs for damage recovery and the upper limit of disaster relief funds do not reflect reality.

He said, "To resume farming, damaged facilities must be quickly demolished, but the demolition cost reflected in disaster relief fund support is limited to 10%, which is far from reality," and requested, "I ask the government to review increasing this to 30% of demolition costs."

Mayor Lee also proposed raising the fixed disaster relief fund cap of 50 million KRW. He explained, "There are quite a few farmers who suffered damages exceeding 1 billion KRW due to this heavy snowfall," adding, "Considering the significant increase in the cost of materials and labor borne by farms, it is necessary to raise the disaster relief fund cap."