Seoul City to Invest 11.4 Billion KRW in Prevention Projects for 81 Landslide-Prone Areas by June

Timely Installation of Advanced Erosion Control Facilities Minimizing Forest Damage and Considering Natural Ecology and Landscape

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 14th that it plans to complete landslide prevention projects by June, before the rainy season, for 81 sites selected as landslide-prone areas through joint inspections with citizens, experts, and autonomous districts.

Seoul City completed prevention projects last year for 75 landslide-prone sites, including Gwanaksan Mountain, with a budget of 10.8 billion KRW, and this year will invest 11.4 billion KRW to carry out landslide prevention projects at 81 sites across the city.

To complete erosion control works in landslide-prone areas before the rainy season in June, detailed design work began in November last year and was completed in early February this year. Early construction started in March, and as of April, some projects have been completed, aiming to finish all landslide prevention projects before the rainy season.

In particular, rather than excessive facility installation, appropriately scaled erosion control projects are being implemented in a timely manner to promote erosion control facilities that harmonize with nature. Instead of closed-type erosion control structures, permeable erosion control structures that allow wildlife to pass through will be installed to prevent ecological disruption caused by the facilities. To avoid oversized erosion control facilities and minimize forest damage, thorough field surveys, analyses, and consultations with various experts will be conducted to install erosion control facilities only in urgently needed areas for mountain disaster prevention.

Seoul City is also making efforts to alleviate vague anxieties of nearby residents by holding construction briefings and collecting opinions. Erosion control projects are carried out in landslide-prone areas to prevent landslides (debris flows) in advance, and to ease residents’ concerns, construction briefings will be held to gather their opinions and request cooperation.

Choi Yoon-jong, Director of Seoul City’s Green City Bureau, said, “We will do our best to implement comprehensive landslide prevention and damage mitigation through early diagnosis and preemptive measures for landslide-prone areas, rather than reactive after-the-fact responses.” He added, “This year, for the first time in Seoul, we will attract a forest watershed management project within the urban area to create a disaster-resilient and ecologically healthy forest watershed. By integrating the entire forest watershed, we expect to maximize the public and productive values of forests, such as disaster prevention, water source cultivation, and water quality purification.”

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