Sancheong County Makes All-Out Efforts to Restore Daily Life for Residents Affected by Wildfires

Accelerating Recovery and Return to Normalcy
Through Direct Support for Livelihood Stabilization and Relief

Sancheong County in Gyeongnam announced on the 31st that, following the complete extinguishment of the large-scale wildfire that broke out in the Sicheon-myeon area on the 21st, it will focus all efforts on supporting recovery and restoring daily life for residents.

First, Sancheong County has established an integrated government one-stop support system for wildfire victims and is operating the Gyeongnam Joint Support Center. Each working group will be dispatched to the site to swiftly handle and address requests and difficulties related to ▲funeral support ▲medical and psychological assistance ▲temporary housing and relief supplies ▲emergency restoration of communication, power, and gas ▲legal, financial, and insurance counseling.

In particular, the county is concentrating on providing direct support in areas such as ▲livelihood stabilization ▲relief support ▲medical expense support ▲funeral assistance. Livelihood stabilization support includes relief funds, living expenses, housing support, relief expenses, education expenses, support for small business owners, and restoration costs.

Lee Seunghwa, the governor of Sancheong County, is inspecting the situation at the wildfire command center.

Relief funds and living expenses will be provided in varying amounts depending on death, missing persons, or injury, while housing support will be divided into categories such as complete destruction, partial destruction, and assistance for tenants. Restoration costs for residential buildings will also be supported, and tuition fees for high school students will be waived.

For those whose main source of income is agriculture, fishery, forestry, or salt production, restoration costs will be provided if their facilities are damaged. Relief support includes the provision of temporary housing, meals, and relief supplies, and medical expenses will be covered for residents affected by the disaster.

With the designation of the area as a special disaster zone, not only will relief for affected residents be provided, but various administrative, financial, and medical expenses will also be covered by national funds. There will also be reductions or deferments for various taxes, health insurance premiums, national pension contributions, and communication and electricity bills.

Previously, Sancheong County canceled all festivals and events scheduled for April to focus entirely on wildfire recovery and restoring daily life. The county has urgently allocated 1 billion KRW in special disaster safety funds for emergency restoration, and is supporting the demolition of damaged homes, site maintenance, installation of temporary housing, and emergency repairs.

Emergency livelihood stabilization measures are also being implemented, such as providing temporary housing and disaster relief supplies for local residents affected by the wildfire. In addition, Sancheong County is operating a joint disaster psychological counseling center with Gyeongnam Province to provide psychological support for wildfire victims.

County Governor Lee Seunghwa said, "We will focus all administrative resources to ensure the swift normalization of the affected areas," and added, "We will devote all our efforts to recovery and restoring daily life for our residents."