Moon Jun-hee, Hapcheon County Governor: "Dam Water Level Control Failure, Man-Made Disaster Not Natural"

Massive Damage Caused by Increased Dam Discharge, Government Urged to Compensate

Moon Jun-hee, Hapcheon County Governor, is holding a press conference urging measures to address the failure in water level control. (Photo by Hapcheon County)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Moon Jun-hee, the mayor of Hapcheon County, Gyeongnam, urged the government on the 10th to provide compensation, stating, "Massive damage occurred due to the increased discharge from Hapcheon Dam during the period of heavy rainfall."

Mayor Moon made these remarks at a press conference held in the county office meeting room titled "Press Conference Urging Measures for the Failure to Control Flood Levels at Hapcheon Dam."

He pointed out, "90% of the flood damage during this heavy rain occurred in villages and farmland near the Hwanggang River, where Hapcheon Dam is located," adding, "This was caused by the sudden increase in dam discharge."

According to Mayor Moon, the Hapcheon Dam Management Team of the Korea Water Resources Corporation opened five sluice gates around 5 p.m. on the 7th, releasing 500 tons per second, and later increased the discharge to a maximum of 2,700 tons per second.

Mayor Moon argued that the damage from this heavy rain was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster caused by the failure to control the discharge volume.

In fact, in Hapcheon, 435 hectares of farmland around the Hwanggang River, 53 houses, 300 vinyl greenhouses, and 8 livestock barns suffered damage, with 3,340 heads of Korean cattle and pigs affected.

Mayor Moon stated, "Although Hapcheon Dam is multipurpose, flood control should be the top priority, but the focus on water storage has caused such a tragedy," and urged, "The Ministry of Environment should recognize this water management failure and compensate for the damage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.