Kim In-ho, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Visits Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Marine Products Market Fire Site

Chairman Kim: "Deep Sympathy for Merchants Suffering Double Hardship from COVID-19 and Fires"... "City Council Will Actively Support Budget for Traditional Market Facility Upgrades and Fire Prevention"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] On the evening of the 22nd, Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, visited the site of the fire at Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Marine Products Market to console the affected merchants and urged the district office and Seoul city for prompt recovery support.

The Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Marine Products Market suffered significant property damage in 22 stores and shops within the market due to a fire on the 19th. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but since this is the second consecutive year with a fire following one in September last year, there is a need to improve the aging environment to prevent fires.

After inspecting the site, Chairperson Kim urged the district office to swiftly remove fire debris and prepare temporary business spaces, expressing his intention to actively support budgets related to improving aging facilities in traditional markets and fire prevention.

First, Chairperson Kim said, “Considering the merchants who are suffering double hardships due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the unexpected fire, I feel very sorry,” adding, “It is truly fortunate that there were no casualties.”

He continued, “The Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Marine Products Market is densely packed with many stores in a narrow space, so once a fire breaks out, it inevitably spreads quickly to surrounding stores. Due to the sandwich panel and corrugated iron roof structure, there is a constant risk of large fires during winter when heating devices are heavily used,” emphasizing, “Therefore, efforts to safely improve the aging electrical facilities of individual stores to reduce the possibility of fire occurrence in advance are urgently needed.”

Regarding the property damage caused by the fire, he said, “Although the Seoul Disaster Management Fund will provide some support, the amount will be far from sufficient to restore all damages,” adding, “To ensure prompt compensation after a fire, it is essential to have fire insurance such as fire mutual aid insurance.”

Chairperson Kim stated, “The Seoul Metropolitan Council will actively oversee projects requiring citizen safety budgets, such as improving aging facilities in traditional markets and operating fire mutual aid insurance, and will secure budgets without fail to minimize citizens’ damages.”

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