Indirect Government Support for Natural Disaster Damage Expanded Significantly from 15 to 29 Types

14 Additional Items Including Public Rental Housing Support and Extension/Postponement of Vehicle Inspection Period

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Starting this summer, the government's indirect support for natural disaster damage will be significantly expanded from the existing 15 types to 29 types by adding 14 new categories, including public rental housing support and extension or deferment of vehicle inspection periods.

On the 17th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it had finalized the plan to expand indirect support to strengthen assistance for natural disaster victims by submitting it to the 2nd Safety Policy Coordination Committee.

Until now, in addition to direct support such as disaster relief funds when natural disasters like typhoons and heavy rains occur, the government has provided 15 types of indirect support, including national tax payment deferment, restoration fund loans, and communication fee reductions.

This year, to discover additional indirect support items that can help citizens facing difficulties due to disasters, the government actively collected opinions from local governments and consulted with related ministries and agencies. As a result, with active participation from seven ministries including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as well as five public institutions such as the Korea Rural Community Corporation, 14 new support items were identified.

Among the newly implemented items are public rental housing support (basic 6 months), exemption from farmland preservation charges (30% of the official land price), life assistance services, and psychological and emotional support for families (up to 900,000 KRW per household), which are expected to greatly help those affected by natural disasters. Additionally, items such as exemption from TV license fees, deferment of vehicle inspection periods, reduction of employment and industrial accident insurance premiums, and health insurance arrears relief were also identified.

Citizens who have suffered damage can report the damage at their nearest eup/myeon/dong office or online, and receive a total of 29 types of indirect support benefits, including the 14 newly discovered items. For 18 types, including national tax payment deferment, indirect support is provided as a one-stop service without any separate procedures once damage is reported.

Furthermore, two types, such as exemption from radio usage fees and postal savings fees, are applied uniformly to areas declared as special disaster zones without separate damage reports. However, for seven items that require the individual's consent for support, separate applications are necessary, and for two items requiring institutional review and resolution, indirect support is provided based on the review results. Indirect support varies by region: 17 types are provided in general disaster areas, and an additional 12 types are provided in special disaster areas, totaling 29 types.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety will implement this expanded indirect support starting today and apply it to natural disaster damages such as typhoons and heavy rains expected this summer. Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said, "I hope this expanded indirect support will help the early stabilization of the lives of citizens affected by natural disasters, even if only a little," and added, "We will continue to actively discover and promote recovery support policies that citizens can feel."

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