Up to 124 Million Won in Housing Restoration Loans
Special Rental Support Raised to 130 Million Won
Emergency Livelihood Stabilization Fund of Up to 30 Million Won Planned
On April 3, the People Power Party requested the government to prepare support measures, including an additional supplementary budget (extra budget) of 3 trillion won, to aid in recovery from large-scale wildfires in the Yeongnam region and to support the daily lives of affected residents.
Kim Sanghoon, Policy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, met with reporters after the "Party-Government Council Meeting on Wildfire Damage Countermeasures" held at the National Assembly that morning and stated, "Today, we requested the government to allocate a supplementary budget of 3 trillion won for wildfire damage recovery." The 3 trillion won includes the reserve fund and budget allocations for government departments such as wildfire suppression helicopters.
Chairman Kim went on to say, "The most urgent task is the restoration of residential damage. At the government level, it has been decided to promptly install around 2,700 temporary modular homes." He explained, "For disaster victims whose homes have been lost or damaged, we will provide disaster housing restoration loans to the maximum extent possible. In special disaster areas, up to 124 million won will be provided at an ultra-low annual interest rate of 1.5%, with a three-year grace period and 17-year equal installment repayment terms."
He continued, "Currently, the special rental housing support for disaster victims in special disaster areas is set at 90 million won for metropolitan cities and 70 million won for other areas. We will raise this to 130 million won." He emphasized, "Under the leadership of the Director-General of Disaster and Safety Management at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, we will also pursue objectives such as damage assessment, livelihood support, and community recovery."
Kwon Youngse, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Party-Government Council for Measures to Address Wildfire Damage held at the National Assembly on April 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
In addition, to help affected residents maintain their livelihoods, the party plans to provide advance payments of living safety funds, free rental and repair services for agricultural machinery, substitute farming services for vulnerable groups, and free distribution of rice seeds.
Regarding this, Chairman Kim stated, "For livestock farmers, we plan to provide free feed, veterinary care, and support for restoring livestock facilities." He added, "For farmers who have disaster insurance and wish to receive it, we will pay 50% of the estimated insurance payout in advance. To ensure livelihood stability, we will also provide 200 billion won in disaster compensation funds through the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (Nonghyup) for affected cooperatives, and up to 30 million won in emergency livelihood stabilization funds per household for affected cooperative members."
For the disposal of various waste resulting from the fires, the Ministry of Environment will operate a waste disposal support team. Chairman Kim explained, "It is expected to require about 100 billion won, so we will take immediate action and provide support through the disaster response fund."
Lee Manhee, a lawmaker who chairs the People Power Party's Special Committee on Wildfire Disaster Response, said, "To restore the agricultural foundation, nearly 6,500 pieces of agricultural machinery have been lost. We need to continue increasing the support and subsidy rates for this." He also mentioned, "During the party-government consultation, we discussed improving the Hometown Love Donation Program and strengthening penalties for those responsible for causing wildfires."
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