Osong-eup Village Chief "Lived 63 Years, Never Experienced This Situation Before"

Residents Point to Mihocheon Bridge Expansion Construction as Cause
MBC Radio Interview, "Consider It a Man-Made Disaster Due to Poor Response"

In Cheongju-si, Heungdeok-gu, Osong-eup, Chungbuk, a pedestrian underpass was flooded, causing casualties. Jang Tae-soon, the head of Seopyeong 2-ri in Gangoe-myeon, said, "Due to heavy rain, the Miho River overflowed, but our area has rarely suffered damage," adding, "I have lived here for 63 years, and this is a situation that has never happened before."

At this underpass, around 8:40 a.m. on the 15th, 15 vehicles including city buses were submerged due to river water flowing in after the nearby Miho River embankment broke. As of 6 a.m. on the 17th, the cumulative death toll stands at 12.

Jang appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day and said, "Starting around noon on the 15th, water rapidly rose and flooding began," adding, "Water continued to rise toward our neighborhood until 10 or 11 p.m. on the 15th."

Search operations for missing persons are underway on the morning of the 16th at Gungpyeong 2 Underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk, which was flooded due to the collapse of the Miho Stream embankment.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Jang, nearby residents believe that the expansion construction of the Mihocheon Bridge between Cheongju and Osong is the cause of this disaster. He said, "When the Miho River embankment overflows, it means a weak part of the levee broke and caused flooding. Although this happened once in 2017, there was no part in our area that was so weak that it broke."

Jang added, "Due to construction-related issues, water flowed in from a weak spot that broke, and a similar situation occurred once in 1995. However, the damage was significant because of problems at the construction site. It is very rare that heavy rain caused the Miho River to overflow and damage our area."

He pointed out, "Residents believe that the levee broke at a section where bridge construction was underway, so most think this was a man-made disaster caused by poor response," adding, "Since the construction was not fully completed, the work should have been perfectly finished before responding."

He continued, "That morning, just after 6 a.m., as the water level rose, there were photos of equipment digging soil and earth to restore the levee little by little, but can that really work?" He said, "The distance from there to the underpass is only about 400 meters in a straight line, so the water inevitably rushed suddenly in that direction."

Currently, the crop yield in Osong-eup has also suffered significant damage. Jang said, "Out of 80 households in the village, about 25 houses were flooded," adding, "The farmland in our village covers about 300,000 pyeong (approximately 100 hectares), and nearly 100% of it was submerged but has now mostly drained."

He also said, "Our area is the facility cultivation complex for watermelons in Cheongwon Saengmyeong Matchandong, and the watermelon harvest has already finished," adding, "As a follow-up crop, there are facilities growing green onions, zucchini, and cucumbers, but due to this heavy rain, almost all the crops are expected to be lost."

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