Jongmyungrae Calms Public Sentiment in Lower Seomjingang Flood Area... "Immediate Investigation of Dam Management"

Meeting with Jeonbuk Governor... Promise to Establish Recurrence Prevention Measures, Request for Cooperation
"Rapid Support for Recovery in Affected Areas"... Formation of 'Dam Management Investigation Committee'

On the afternoon of the 16th, Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae visited the Jeonbuk Provincial Office and met with Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeonbuk Province, promising to initiate an investigation into the appropriateness of dam management and to establish measures to prevent recurrence, while requesting cooperation from local governments for the early recovery of flood damage.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae visited the flood-affected area of Gurye in Jeonnam on the 16th, following visits to Gokseong on the 14th and Hapcheon and Muju on the 15th, to listen to the voices from the flood disaster sites.

The consecutive site visits were arranged to establish support measures for early recovery from the flood damage and to devise prevention plans against recurrence. The Gurye-gun area experienced over 320mm of heavy rain on the 7th and 8th, which caused embankment collapse and flooding damage.

Minister Cho focused on inspecting the restoration site in Gurye-eup, Gurye-gun, a flood-affected area downstream of the Seomjin River Dam, and promised to do his best to ensure prompt recovery.

He heard from affected residents that "the worst flood occurred due to the failure of water level control by dam management agencies such as Korea Water Resources Corporation," and stated, "We will promptly start an objective investigation into whether the operation of the Seomjin River Dam was appropriate before and after this heavy rain."

In the afternoon, Minister Cho met with Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeonbuk Province, promising immediate investigation commencement and the establishment of recurrence prevention measures, and requested cooperation from metropolitan local governments for early flood damage recovery.

Minister Cho expressed, "I feel sorry and regretful for the residents who suffered flood damage due to this record-breaking heavy rain," and added, "We have requested related local governments to recommend members for the Dam Management Investigation Committee, so please actively recommend candidates."

The Ministry of Environment plans to consult with related ministries to ensure rapid recovery support based on the demands of the affected areas.

Additionally, they plan to diagnose and evaluate problems in the dam operation manual and prepare improvement measures for overall dam management.

Earlier, on the 14th, the Ministry of Environment began forming the 'Dam Management Investigation Committee' to investigate the appropriateness of dam operation and management in flood-affected downstream areas such as Seomjin River Dam, Yongdam Dam, and Hapcheon Dam.

The committee will be formed by recommendations from local governments, related academic societies, and regional councils for each area including Seomjin River Dam, Yongdam Dam, and Hapcheon Dam. To ensure objectivity, a private expert is expected to serve as the committee chairperson.

The Ministry of Environment will begin preliminary investigations next week regardless of whether the committee formation is complete. The investigation will cover overall appropriateness of dam operation, including discharge volume, timing and duration of discharge, and notification of discharge, as well as related standards.

This measure follows controversies raised by local governments in the Honam region, which suffered massive damage from record-breaking heavy rain, claiming that dam operation exacerbated the flood damage.

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