Five Provinces Including Jeonbuk Submit Joint Petition for Prompt Compensation of Flood Damage at Seomjingang Dam and Others

Damage worth 79.9 billion KRW in 5 cities and counties including Namwon, Imsil, Sunchang, Jinan, and Muju

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] In August last year, five provinces (do) in the downstream flood damage areas of dams nationwide, including the Seomjingang Dam, submitted a joint proposal to the Blue House, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, and the Central Environmental Dispute Mediation Committee for prompt full national compensation.

Jeonbuk Province announced on the 18th that five provinces, including Jeonnam, Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Gyeongnam, jointly proposed to the Blue House and the Ministry of Economy and Finance for prompt full national compensation regarding the flood damage in the downstream dam areas that occurred in August last year.

Due to the heavy rain in August last year, nationwide damage amounting to 375.7 billion KRW and about 8,400 flood victims occurred in the downstream areas of Seomjingang Dam, Yongdam Dam, Daecheong Dam, Hapcheon Dam, and Namgang Dam.

In Jeonbuk, damage amounting to 79.9 billion KRW and about 2,200 flood victims occurred in five cities and counties: Namwon, Imsil, Sunchang, Jinan, and Muju.

The government announced in August this year, through the "Dam Downstream Flood Cause Investigation Service," that the state judged that it had a direct and indirect impact on flood damage due to technical, social, and financial constraints, and identified the causes of the flood as △ limitations of laws and systems △ inadequate dam operation △ lack of flood management linkage between dams and rivers △ insufficient preventive investment and maintenance of rivers, among other complex factors.

Accordingly, the five flood-affected provinces including Jeonbuk argued that the fundamental causes of last year’s flood were the lack of flood control operation capacity during the flood season, inadequate preliminary discharge, and failure to control discharge volume and timing. They claimed that since inadequate dam operation and sudden dam discharge caused an irresistible flood that local governments could not respond to, the state should promptly compensate the entire damage amount with national funds.

Governor Song Ha-jin stated, “Even though a year has passed since the flood occurred, compensation has not been made yet, so prompt national compensation at the government level is required for the speedy return to daily life of the flood victims.” He added, “The dam downstream flood cause investigation service did not clearly present the responsibility ratio by institution, and if compensation is divided by institution, there is concern about delays due to institutional responsibility evasion and lawsuits, and the resulting damage will directly affect the flood victims,” emphasizing the necessity of full national compensation.

Meanwhile, representatives of residents from the five cities and counties in Jeonbuk have completed an application for mediation to the Central Environmental Dispute Mediation Committee to receive damage compensation, and the dispute mediation procedure is currently underway at the committee.

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr

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