JAKARTA - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol designated 13 areas worst affected by heavy rains as special disaster zones, including cities and counties in North Gyeongsang Province, North Jeolla Province and North and South Chungcheong Provinces.
The announcement was made by President Yoon in the midst of a search and rescue operation for those still missing.
The most recent special disaster zones are Yecheon, Bonghwa, Yeongju and Mungyeong in North Gyeongsang Province; Nonsan, Gongju, Cheongyang and Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province; Cheongju and Goesan in North Chungcheong Province and Juksan Iksan and Gimje Township in North Jeolla Province, reported the Korea Times July 20.
Local governments and district offices for areas designated as special disaster zones receive special allowances from the central government, including special funds to be used for recovery work.
Residents of the zone are also exempt from paying certain taxes and will receive a discount on public utility costs. The Sejong Autonomous Municipality is also on the list of beneficiaries.
There is a standard for establishing a special disaster zone in Ginseng Country. For cities, counties and districts, the damage should be between 5 billion won and 11 billion won. As for smaller districts worth 500 million won to 1.1 billion won.
President Yoon further ordered Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Security Han Chang-seob, who is currently the minister, to oversee the restoration of infrastructure in the affected areas and prevent further casualties.
The president also ordered Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Chung Hwang-keun to support rural households affected by the disaster, secure harvests and production to keep national consumption going.
Separately, presidential office spokesman Lee Do-woon acknowledged the latest designation of a special disaster zone came about two weeks earlier than usual for past natural disasters. He said the president, who was out of the country when the heavy rains started, ensured that government support for the latest flood victims must be disbursed immediately without delay.
It is understood the heavy rains that hit earlier this month became extremely extreme last week for days, flooding the area and causing landslides nationwide. As of Wednesday, 44 people have died and six are still missing nationwide.
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It was the worst flood disaster since 2011, when rains triggered flash floods and landslides that left at least 77 people dead.
In this disaster, most of the victims came from North Gyeongsang Province and Chungcheong Province. In North Gyeongsang, where the landslides in the mountainous areas were most devastating, 27 people died or were missing and 17 were injured.
In North Chungcheong Province, 17 died and 14 were injured. The figure includes a traffic tunnel in the Osong Cheongju area which suddenly filled with water, killing 14 people and injuring 10 others. Meanwhile, nearly 8.000 people across South Korea were displaced by floods or landslides.
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