"Number of Visitors to Donation Site Increases Twentyfold"
Amid severe damage caused by a large-scale wildfire that occurred in Gyeongbuk on the 22nd, a continuous wave of donations from citizens toward the affected areas is ongoing.
According to Yonhap News on the 28th, as of that day, donations for the "Gyeongbuk Yeongdeok Wildfire Emergency Fundraising" on the private hometown love donation platform "Wikib" have exceeded 402.53 million KRW. The number of citizens participating in this donation reached 4,350. It has only been two days since the fundraising began on the 26th.
Wikib is a hometown love donation portal service. It is a service that donates to local governments struggling with financial shortages, providing donors with tax deduction benefits and thank-you gifts according to the amount donated. Donations up to 100,000 KRW receive a full tax deduction benefit, and donations exceeding 100,000 KRW can receive a tax deduction benefit of up to 16.5%.
In the emergency fundraising for the "Gyeongbuk Uiseong Wildfire" held the previous day, 723 people participated, surpassing 70 million KRW in donations. Additionally, on another hometown love donation platform, "Hometown Love e-Eum," about 100 million KRW was raised for the Gyeongbuk Andong wildfire emergency fund.
Previously, Yeongdeok-gun and Uiseong-gun in Gyeongbuk began receiving donations through Wikib. The fundraising is scheduled to continue for the next three months, with a target amount of 1 billion KRW. The funds will be used to support wildfire victims and carry out various relief activities.
A Wikib official told the media, "Since starting the emergency fundraising, the number of site visitors has increased twentyfold compared to usual," adding, "Because this is an issue of great national interest, the donation speed is also fast."
Meanwhile, the wildfire started on the 22nd in Uiseong-gun, Gyeongbuk, spreading to Andong-si, Cheongsong-gun, Yeongyang-gun, and Yeongdeok-gun, and was extinguished on the 28th after six days. Earlier, the Korea Forest Service announced that as of 5 p.m. on that day, the wildfires in five cities and counties in Gyeongbuk had been extinguished. This was 149 hours and 35 minutes after the first wildfire outbreak.
The wildfire that lasted six days resulted in 24 deaths and 26 injuries. The affected wildfire area is estimated to be 45,157 hectares (ha), equivalent to 156 Yeouido districts, making it the largest wildfire damage ever recorded in South Korea. As a result, 27,079 residents were evacuated, and over 200 buildings were destroyed in Sancheong and Uiseong alone.
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