Effectively Sent as Cash on Delivery to Trash... Crying Over Wildfires and Relief Supplies Again

Unusable Clothes and Items Sent Cash on Delivery
Double Hardship Due to Trash Disposal Costs

Controversy has arisen as relief supplies sent to wildfire victims in the Gyeongbuk region were found to be items close to trash. It has even been reported that some of these items were sent with 'cash on delivery' charges.

On the 9th, TBC reported that donation items for victims who escaped the wildfire in the Gyeongbuk area with nothing but their bare bodies were arriving at the site. Among these items were many unusable goods such as worn-out clothes and ladles covered in grease, causing double difficulties in disposal. Local residents expressed bitterness, saying, "The intention to help is good, but we are not beggars."

On the afternoon of the 7th, evacuees, public officials, and volunteers gathered at the Hadong wildfire evacuee shelter set up at Okcheon Hall in Okjong-myeon, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam. Photo by Yonhap News

In fact, the amount of unusable relief goods discarded in Cheongsong-gun, where the fire occurred, reached as much as 11 tons, and concerns about disposal costs are mounting. Furthermore, boxes of old clothes were even delivered cash on delivery to a nonprofit organization in Cheongsong-gun. A representative of the organization said, "They sent things that we had to throw away as trash," adding, "It really makes me tear up and feel upset. All of it was sent cash on delivery, and the charges exceeded 700,000 won." This kind of behavior is not unprecedented.

During the wildfires in 2019 in Goseong-gun and Sokcho areas in Gangwon Province, it was reported that out of 53 tons of donated used clothes, 30 tons were discarded. At that time, the region struggled with storage due to an excessive influx of used clothes and requested, "Please do not send used clothes." In February 2023, after a major earthquake in T?rkiye, the Embassy of T?rkiye in Korea announced, "We do not accept used goods." Meanwhile, donations collected nationwide for this wildfire disaster have exceeded 110 billion won. This amount surpasses the 80 billion won raised during the 2022 East Coast wildfires, making it the largest disaster relief fundraising amount in history.