[The Editors' Verdict] National Disaster Response System Collapses Under Heavy Rain

Despite Promises to Strengthen Disaster Management,
Man-Made Disasters Persist
Root Causes Must Be Examined and Solutions Prepared

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has recommended personnel measures against Lee Sang-rae, the Vice Minister-level Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency (Happy City Agency), in connection with the disaster at Gungpyeong 2 Underpass in Osong-eup, Cheongju, Chungbuk, which resulted in 24 casualties. It has become clear that this was a man-made disaster caused by a failure of the disaster response system, with local government heads, public officials, and police neglecting their responsibilities.

Last summer, heavy rains also caused significant flood damage. President Yoon visited a semi-basement house in Sillim-dong, Seoul, where three people died due to flooding in August last year, and made remarks such as, "I wonder why the people here did not evacuate in advance," and "When I left work, I saw an apartment where flooding had started," which drew criticism for being an indifferent and complacent perception of the situation, making it difficult to empathize with him as the highest national leader. It is also vividly remembered that he scolded ministers and promised to strengthen disaster management measures.

However, this year again, what was initially considered a natural disaster turned out to be a man-made one. What exactly went wrong?

In psychology and psychiatry, there is a term called ‘attribution.’ When an outcome occurs, whether good or bad, people tend to look for causes, which is called attribution. However, the identification of causes is not always based on logical and valid analysis. Often, people point to certain causes to maintain their own peace of mind.

There is a Korean proverb that metaphorically describes the attitude of blaming others when things go wrong: "If it goes well, it’s my fault; if it doesn’t, it’s my ancestors’ fault." This reflects the ‘self-serving bias’ in attribution. While it is not good to always blame external factors or others, blaming only oneself can damage self-esteem and lead to depression. Therefore, maintaining a sense of balance and logical thinking is extremely important.

We have moved beyond the era when droughts or epidemics were attributed to divine wrath or the incompetence of the ruler, living now in an age of reason and science. Yet, thoroughly investigating and determining right and wrong and holding parties accountable remains a challenging task.

Especially when tragic deaths occur due to disasters, major accidents, or social conflicts, intense conflicts arise between individuals and groups in the process of finding out who was at fault and who neglected responsibility. Unreasonable attributions and narrow-minded claims fuel division, and politicians, under the guise of representing public opinion, often manipulate the situation to favor themselves and their parties, a sight that is all too familiar.

Moreover, at the end of the process of identifying ‘who’ through investigations and media coverage, the ‘state’ is always called upon. Although the beginning is noisy, as if the entire system will be overhauled and the core will undergo major surgery, it often ends with scapegoating a few frontline workers and lower-level managers.

The public, too, whenever such incidents occur, express disappointment and anger toward the incompetent government, questioning what the government was doing, whether this is a proper country, and where their taxes have gone. However, this soon passes into resignation, indifference, and forgetfulness.

The situation where the government’s amateurish mismanagement causes harm to the people, who then lose trust in the state’s protection system and resort to self-help, must not continue. The personnel measures against the Happy City Agency Administrator should not be the end. It is necessary to clearly examine whether the root cause of the poor response lies in the absence of manuals and systems or in chronic manpower shortages, and to prepare improvement measures accordingly.

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