Jeon Hae-cheol: "We will find support measures even for areas not designated as special disaster zones in the East Coast wildfires"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Jeon Hae-cheol, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety), announced on the 10th that support measures will be sought for areas not declared as special disaster zones.

On the same day, during the opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting, Jeon said, "For areas not declared as special disaster zones, we will comprehensively assess the damage after completing the extinguishment and seek multifaceted support measures." The government declared Uljin and Samcheok as special disaster zones on the 6th, and Gangneung and Donghae on the 8th.

He also mentioned the direction of support for disaster victims. He stated, "We will review housing support measures such as securing temporary modular housing and public rental housing for disaster victims, supporting costs for using private lodging facilities, and low-interest loans for new home construction," adding, "We will also discuss various financial support measures such as plans to resume farming activities for affected farms and exemptions or deferrals of national and local taxes, insurance premiums, and communication fees."

Currently, the wildfires in Uljin and Samcheok have been 75% contained. However, difficulties in extinguishing continue in forest areas.

Jeon explained, "The wildfires in Gangneung and Donghae have been extinguished, but those in Uljin and Samcheok are 75% contained," adding, "The establishment of protective lines around the Geumgang Pine forest has been effective, weakening the fire, and the wind has shifted to a favorable west wind for firefighting. We will put all available 82 helicopters into operation today to fully extinguish the main fires."

Meanwhile, he reiterated the request for cooperation in preventing wildfires during the special large wildfire countermeasure period set until the 17th of next month. Jeon emphasized, "The special large wildfire countermeasure period is set until April 17th. Please cooperate by refraining from unauthorized burning of rice paddies and fields, garbage incineration, and handling fire in forests or adjacent areas to prevent wildfires."

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