Democratic Party Boards Honam Line a Step Late... Flood Recovery Support for Namwon, Jeonbuk

Late Visit to Home Garden in Honam Region
Damage Recovery Support Activities in Namwon, Jeonbuk
United Party Continues On-Site Visits for Third Day

[Jeonbuk=Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The United Future Party took a swift step by directly visiting flood damage sites, prompting the Democratic Party to also respond by belatedly visiting the flood-affected areas. Following the United Future Party's visit to the Honam flood sites on the 10th, the Democratic Party visited Honam on the 12th to support recovery efforts. Inside and outside the party, there are criticisms that the Democratic Party's response was a step behind the United Future Party in the Honam region, known as the Democratic Party's stronghold.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 12th, candidates for party leader and supreme council member running in the August 29 party convention, along with local constituency lawmakers, visited the flood-affected areas in Namwon, Jeollabuk-do, to participate in recovery work. The day before, they had visited Eumseong-gun, Chungbuk, which was designated as an emergency disaster area.

The Namwon Geumji-myeon area visited by the Democratic Party that day suffered flooding damage to farmland and roads due to the collapse of embankments along the Seomjin River basin. Water had not yet fully drained from the fields, and seedlings such as chili peppers were wilted. Heavy equipment like excavators was actively engaged in removing flooded home appliances.

Meanwhile, as the United Future Party actively pursued livelihood-related activities, criticisms arose within and outside the Democratic Party that their response was delayed. The United Future Party has been visiting local flood sites for three consecutive days. On the same day, United Future Party lawmakers belonging to the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee also visited Namwon. They plan to visit Gurye in Jeonnam and Hadong in Gyeongnam sequentially in the afternoon. On the 11th, United Future Party floor leader Joo Ho-young canceled a scheduled meeting at the National Assembly and instructed all 58 first-term lawmakers of the party to "participate in volunteer activities at the Jeonnam flood sites."

Namwon Mayor Lee Hwan-joo appealed for the need to increase disaster relief funds that day. The mayor said, "Since most of the affected areas are used as farmland, even if designated as a special disaster area, the benefits returned to residents are minimal."

In response, Democratic Party leadership candidates expressed their positions before support activities. Candidate Lee Nak-yeon said, "The declaration of a special disaster area will be made within a few days. Either the entire city or several severely damaged myeon (townships) will be included. Recovery support funds will realistically include support for crops as well as housing damage."

Candidate Kim Boo-kyum emphasized, "We will ensure that there are no setbacks in government and recovery efforts. We will work hard to solve problems and comfort the hearts of the people." Candidate Park Jumin also said, "We will strive to improve the criteria for declaring special disaster zones, which currently focus on public facilities, so that declarations can also be made for private and agricultural damages."

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