Hapcheon-gun Holds Disbandment Ceremony for Hapcheon Dam Flood Damage Countermeasures Committee

Failure in Dam Water Level Control Operation by Korea Water Resources Corporation
Establishment of Countermeasure Committee Demands Compensation for Damages

Hapcheon Dam Discharge Flood Damage Countermeasures Committee Dissolution Ceremony Photo

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam held a disbandment ceremony for the 2020 Hapcheon Dam Flood Damage Countermeasures Committee at the Yulgok-myeon Welfare Center on the 27th, concluding over two years of efforts following the flood damage.

About 40 committee members, including County Governor Kim Yoon-cheol and Chairman Lee Jong-cheol, participated in the ceremony.

The flood damage caused by the discharge from Hapcheon Dam in August 2020 resulted in unprecedented damage across 17 cities and counties nationwide due to the Korea Water Resources Corporation's failure to properly control the dam water level.

Accordingly, the affected cities and counties formed countermeasure committees and continuously engaged in government-level protests demanding compensation for the damages.

At the government level, since such damage cases were unprecedented, the demands of the affected residents for compensation were partially accepted, leading to amendments in the Environmental Dispute Mediation Act to allow compensation for flood damage.

The Hapcheon-gun Citizens' Countermeasure Committee, in coordination with the county, actively responded by conducting damage investigations and was the fastest among the 17 affected cities and counties nationwide to apply for environmental dispute mediation.

Since then, the committee responded swiftly and intelligently to the dispute mediation, achieving the highest mediation rate of 72% among the affected cities and counties nationwide.

According to the first and second mediation decisions, by the end of April, 10.97 billion KRW was paid to 564 residents, excluding some, providing some consolation for the damages suffered.

At the event, Governor Kim expressed gratitude for the efforts of the countermeasure committee, who worked hard to ensure that the affected residents received as much compensation as possible while monitoring all situations.

Chairman Lee said, “I appreciate the hard work as a result of the united and proactive response of the affected residents and the county office regarding the flood damage.”

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