Gangwon Business Organizations Urge "Declaration of Special Disaster Areas for Donghae, Gangneung, and Yeongwol"

"Strong Condemnation of Government's Differential Treatment in Identical Disaster Damage Cases"

Manwoo Village on the East Sea Devastated by Wildfire [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] As President Moon Jae-in declared Uljin County in Gyeongbuk Province and Samcheok City in Gangwon Province as special disaster zones on the 6th, calls have been raised to designate Donghae City as a special disaster zone as well.

The Gangwon Federation of Businessmen and the Donghae Federation of Businessmen issued a statement saying, "We strongly condemn the government's action of differentiating between the damages caused by the same disaster in Uljin and Samcheok, and request that Donghae City also be designated as a special disaster zone."

These organizations urged, "We strongly protest the declaration of only Uljin and Samcheok as special disaster zones following the wildfires that occurred on the 4th in Uljin, Samcheok, Donghae, Gangneung, and Yeongwol."

They added, "Donghae City suffered enormous damage from the wildfire that broke out in Ok-gye, Gangneung in 2019. Having barely recovered, the wildfire that started again in Ok-gye less than three years later has threatened the entire urban area with a population of 90,000 and its citizens, and caused massive damage to the downtown area around Mukho Port."

They pointed out, "Even now, wildfires are ongoing at Chorokbong and Bicheon, and people are fighting desperately. Declaring only the Uljin and Samcheok areas as special disaster zones by the government undermines the struggle and determination of Donghae citizens against the wildfires."

Furthermore, they reiterated, "Should Donghae City be disadvantaged simply because its urban area is smaller despite suffering the same damage at the same time? The government should include Donghae City, Ok-gye, and Yeongwol in the declaration of special disaster zones."

Earlier, President Moon Jae-in, who visited the evacuation center for disaster victims in Uljin, Gyeongbuk, announced that Uljin and Samcheok, which suffered great damage from the recent wildfires, would be declared special disaster zones.

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