Pohang Earthquake Damage Fully Covered... Payments to Begin Next Month

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government will fully compensate the victims of the Pohang earthquake that occurred in November 2017. The statute of limitations for claims for damages related to the Pohang earthquake will also be extended from the previous 3 years to 5 years. The government, together with local governments, has allocated a total budget of 375 billion KRW for relief support funds this year.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the partial amendment bill of the "Special Act on the Investigation and Relief of the Pohang Earthquake" containing these details was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 9th.

According to the amended law, which will take effect from the 16th of next month, the relief support fund for property damage will be expanded from 80% of the previous damage amount to 100%. The state will bear 80% of the funding, and local governments will bear 20%.

If victims of the Pohang earthquake have objections to the relief decision, they must apply for a re-examination within 30 days from the date they receive the notification of the relief decision. If the Relief Review Committee decides on a re-examination and determines that additional payments are necessary, the remaining damage amount will be paid within one month.

With this amendment to the Pohang Earthquake Special Act, support funds will be actively disbursed from next month for the initial relief applications submitted to the Relief Review Committee in September last year. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has secured a national budget of 300 billion KRW.

The government also plans to steadily promote various support projects for the economic revitalization of Pohang City, such as the construction of the East Sea Marine Complex Exhibition Center, safety management of geothermal power plant sites, and the establishment of the Pohang Trauma Center.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "We will promptly provide relief support funds and steadily carry out economic revitalization projects," adding, "We will do our best to support Pohang so that the region can recover from earthquake damage as soon as possible."

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