Battle to Secure Evidence for 'Pohang Earthquake Damage' Claims... "Concerns Over Compensation Document Brokerage"

Enforcement Decree Promulgated on the 1st... Damage Claims Accepted for One Year Starting the 21st
Pohang City "Beware of High Fees Demanded by Loss Assessment Agencies"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] With the enforcement decree of the 'Special Act on the Investigation of the Pohang Earthquake and Relief for Victims' (Pohang Earthquake Special Act) promulgated and enforced on the 1st, preparations for accepting applications for victim support are in full swing.

Applications for earthquake damage were originally scheduled to begin in early August, but due to some changes during the legislative notice and public opinion gathering process for the amendment of the enforcement decree of the Pohang Earthquake Special Act, the start date was set for the 21st.

Contrary to the originally announced legislative notice, the main amendments include increasing the government payment ratio for relief support funds from 70% to 80%, and raising the support limit for each damage type for small business owners and small and medium enterprises from 60 million KRW to 100 million KRW.

Considering the convenience of citizens affected by the earthquake, Pohang City has been delegated the tasks of receiving applications, delivering decision letters, and disbursing support funds through the Pohang Earthquake Damage Relief Deliberation Committee. Accordingly, reception desks have been set up at a total of 34 locations, including eup, myeon, and dong administrative welfare centers, and applications will be accepted from the 21st until August 31, 2021. To prevent COVID-19 and avoid congestion during on-site reception, a five-day rotation system based on the last digit of the applicant’s birth year will be applied.

For applicants, the commissioned professional loss assessment companies will conduct fact-finding investigations for six months, based on which the Damage Relief Deliberation Committee will determine victim recognition and the amount of support funds. When deciding support funds, amounts already paid as national compensation or the same type of support under other laws will be excluded. The support funds will be deposited within one month from the date the decision letter is delivered.

Additionally, earthquake damage reporters themselves must secure sufficient proof documents (damage photos, repair cost receipts, deposit certificates, etc.) when applying. Due to this, there are concerns that some loss assessment companies may operate by charging fees to citizens lacking proof documents, claiming to handle earthquake damage compensation paperwork on their behalf.

A Pohang City official stated, "We will do our best to avoid causing inconvenience to citizens due to the change in the application period," and added, "We will thoroughly prepare so that citizens can conveniently apply directly without document agency services through outreach education and other means."

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