On the morning of the 14th, a merchant is inspecting the remains at Songjeong 5-Day Market in Gwangsan District, Gwangju, where a fire broke out. Photo by Yonhap News
Gwangsan-gu in Gwangju will provide emergency living expenses to merchants affected by the fire at Songjeong 5-day Market who are unable to operate their businesses.
According to Gwangsan-gu on the 17th, the fire completely destroyed 38 out of 240 stalls in the market (19 stores), leaving 14 merchants unable to operate until restoration is completed.
It was found that 7 out of the 14 affected merchants, about half, did not have fire insurance.
Accordingly, Gwangsan-gu has established a plan to provide living expenses to low-income merchants affected by the fire whose income is at or below 75% of the median income (4-person household standard: 4.57 million won).
The support will be provided in fixed amounts according to the number of household members, with a maximum of 1.87 million won per month for up to six months for a four-person household.
The district plans to directly contact the affected merchants after verifying their personal information and the details of the damage to ensure they receive the support funds.
The district also plans to demolish the 38 damaged stalls and rebuild them, and is working on budgeting and other related procedures.
Currently, Songjeong 5-day Market is entirely owned by Gwangsan-gu and operated by leasing stalls to merchants.
A Gwangsan-gu official stated, "We are preparing support measures so that small-scale merchants can overcome disasters," and added, "We will also promptly implement restoration measures for a quick return to daily life."
The fire at Gwangju Songjeong 5-day Market occurred at around 1:02 a.m. on the 14th.
The automatic fire alarm system installed in the market was activated, and the fire was extinguished in about 50 minutes.
There were no casualties, but the fire was difficult to contain because the stalls were built with flammable sandwich panels and were closely packed together.
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