Jeong Se-il, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member, Urges Investigation into Heavy Rain Damage in Seomjingang and Yeongsangang River Basins

Accurate Cause Investigation, Damage Compensation, and Permanent Measures by the Government

Jang Se-il, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] On the 8th, the Jeonnam Provincial Council announced that it adopted the “Resolution Urging the Truth Investigation of Flood Damage in the Seomjingang and Yeongsangang River Basins,” which was proposed by Representative Jang Se-il of the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Marine Affairs Committee, at the plenary session of the 346th extraordinary meeting.

Representative Jang stated that the cause of the large-scale damage due to unprecedented heavy rainfall in our region from August 5 to 9 was not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster caused by water management failures such as dam water level control and discharge by the Korea Water Resources Corporation.

Despite the Korea Meteorological Administration issuing nationwide heavy rain warnings in advance, the Korea Water Resources Corporation maintained the reservoir in a full state without taking preemptive measures such as pre-discharge. Only after the dam water level rapidly rose due to the heavy rain did they belatedly release a large amount of water all at once, leading to the worst damage.

The amount of water discharged by the Korea Water Resources Corporation at that time reached record levels of 1,870 tons per second at Seomjingang Dam and 1,000 tons per second at Juam Dam. At the time when the river water level was already high due to the heavy rain, the additional water bomb discharged from the dams caused about 10 casualties, approximately 3,000 displaced persons, and over 2,400 flooded households, resulting in damage worth about 400 billion won.

On August 17, the Ministry of Environment announced that it would operate a dam management investigation committee until October to investigate the cause and objectively verify it.

Representative Jang said, “The Ministry of Environment, the final responsible party, is shifting all responsibility under the pretext of the dam management investigation committee instead of acknowledging responsibility for water management policies and discharge failures, so we can no longer stand by.”

The Jeonnam Provincial Council strongly urged the government to acknowledge responsibility for the flood damage in the Seomjingang and Yeongsangang river basins, provide direct compensation for damages, and establish permanent measures to prevent recurrence so that such cases never happen again.

Representative Jang Se-il emphasized again, “During this heavy rainfall, there were numerous cases where other dams also exceeded the flood season limit water levels, showing very inadequate preparation for abnormal climate. The Ministry of Environment and Korea Water Resources Corporation must take full responsibility for all damages and must establish permanent measures to ensure that such damage never recurs.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Provincial Council plans to send the resolution urging action to related government agencies including the Blue House, the National Assembly, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Ministry of Environment.

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