Increase of Disaster Relief Fund to 20 Million Won for Deaths and Missing Cases Due to Natural Disasters

<중대본, Raising Support Criteria for Human Casualties and Housing
Up to 10 Million KRW Based on Injury Disability Grade

First Increase in Natural Disaster Support Funds in 25 Years>

On the 13th, as the longest rainy season in history is coming to an end, the water is receding at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, revealing the walking paths. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The disaster relief funds provided by the government for deaths, missing persons, and injuries caused by natural disasters will be doubled from the existing amount. The disaster relief payments related to housing damage and flooding will also increase. The revised disaster relief fund standards will apply to natural disasters occurring this summer, including the recent monsoon rains.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) announced on the 14th that it will raise the support standards for casualties and housing-related disaster relief funds among the disaster relief funds for victims to ensure early stabilization of residents affected by the prolonged heavy rains this year and to aid in recovery and restoration.

From now on, the disaster relief fund given to the deceased or missing persons will increase from 10 million won to 20 million won. For the injured, the support amount, which was previously 5 million won for disability grades 1 to 7 and 2.5 million won for grades 8 to 14, has been raised to 10 million won and 5 million won respectively.

The disaster relief funds for housing damage will also be adjusted upward. In cases where the entire house is destroyed, the amount per household of actual residence will increase from 13 million won to 16 million won, and for partial destruction, from 6.5 million won to 8 million won. For house flooding, the amount per household will increase from 1 million won to 2 million won.

This is the first increase in disaster relief funds related to natural disasters in 25 years since the amounts were set in 1995. This increase in disaster relief funds is a follow-up measure to the decision made at the high-level ruling party-government meeting on the 12th.

The CDSCH also approved allowing the mandatory deposits from local governments' disaster management funds to be used for recovery from the recent heavy rain damage. Disaster management funds are accumulated annually by local governments as a certain percentage of ordinary taxes to cover costs for disaster prevention, emergency recovery, and support for victims. Fifteen percent of the annually accumulated disaster management funds are classified as mandatory deposits and managed separately to prepare for large-scale disasters.

The CDSCH explained that considering the unprecedented flood damage and the financial difficulties faced by local governments due to significant use of disaster management funds for COVID-19 response, the mandatory deposits of the disaster management funds will be utilized as resources for damage recovery to facilitate prompt emergency restoration.

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