Lee Sang-min Heads to Flood-Affected Areas... "We Will Spare No Support for Returning to Daily Life"

Inspection of Damage Sites in Osong, Chungbuk and Bonghwa, Gyeongbuk
Condolences at 'Osong Flood' Memorial Altar to Comfort Bereaved Families
Instructions on Sectoral Measures and Evacuation Facility Inspections

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, who returned to his duties as the head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, visited flood-affected areas in the Gyeongbuk and Chungbuk regions on the 26th, his second day back.

Following his visit to Cheongyang-gun, Chungnam Province the previous day, Minister Lee inspected the recovery status at the damage sites in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province, Bongseong-myeon, Bonghwa-gun, and Buseok-myeon, Yeongju-si, Gyeongbuk Province.

At around 9:40 a.m., he checked the accident site at Gungpyeong 2nd Underpass (Osong Underpass) in Osong-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungbuk Province, where 24 casualties occurred. On the 15th, heavy rain caused the Miho River embankment to break, flooding the area and resulting in 14 deaths and 10 injuries.

After visiting the site, Minister Lee paid his respects to the bereaved families at the memorial altar for the victims set up at the Chungbuk Provincial Government Office. He then visited the National Daejeon National Cemetery to lay flowers and offer incense for the late Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who died in the line of duty during the search operation for missing persons caused by the heavy rain.

In the afternoon, he visited Bonghwa-gun and Yeongju-si in Gyeongbuk Province. Both Bonghwa-gun and Yeongju-si were declared special disaster zones on the 19th. Bonghwa-gun suffered damage from landslides, while Yeongju-si experienced flooding of farmland and houses due to river embankment collapse.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Lee visited the landslide-affected areas in Bonghwa-gun and promised to promptly provide prefabricated houses and rental housing to displaced residents who require long-term temporary shelter. He also encouraged volunteers and on-site officials engaged in clearing collapsed houses and emergency restoration of river embankments.

He then moved to the Nakwhamcheon embankment damage area in Yeongju-si to inspect the emergency restoration status of the river, roads, and farmland. He comforted displaced residents sheltering at the Danggok 2-ri village hall and pledged that the government would do its utmost to restore the damage quickly so that residents can return to their daily lives as soon as possible.

Minister Lee said, "I ask public officials and volunteers to pay special attention to safety during on-site activities and to complete emergency restoration swiftly. The government will spare no effort and cooperate across all ministries to fully support the complete recovery of the affected areas and the return of local residents to their daily lives."

He is reported to have instructed the formation of a meeting body with private experts to discuss sector-specific measures such as underground space flooding and landslides, and to conduct thorough pre-safety inspections of evacuation facilities.

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