Wildfires Strike, Yet Influx Increases... Could It Really Be Because of 'This'?

36 Move-in Registrations After the Wildfire, 3.6 Times Higher Than Last Year
Some Registered at Homes Completely Destroyed by the Wildfire

On the 9th, Ddagaebi Village in Seok-ri, Yeongdeok-eup, Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, shows a devastated appearance here and there due to the wildfire that spread last month. Photo by Yonhap News

It has been confirmed that there has been a surge in move-in registrations in some areas of Gyeongsangbuk-do affected by the massive wildfires.

On the 9th, local broadcaster TBC reported that "the resident registration population decline in Yeongdeok, an area previously damaged by wildfires, has reversed to an increase after 53 months." Despite efforts to prevent local extinction, the population has actually increased following the wildfires.

An official in charge of civil complaints in a town or township in Yeongdeok stated, "Normally, when a disaster occurs, move-in registrations tend to decrease compared to usual, but from the day after the wildfire, they increased somewhat more than usual." In fact, during the week following the day the wildfire spread to Yeongdeok, there were 36 move-ins from outside the area, which is 3.6 times higher than the same period last year.

The reason is interpreted as an attempt to receive wildfire disaster relief funds. Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 28th of last month that it would provide 300,000 won in disaster relief funds to all residents of the five cities and counties affected by the wildfire, and move-in registrations concentrated within a few days from that announcement.

There were also cases where people listed addresses of houses completely destroyed by the wildfire through online move-in applications. An official in charge of a town or township in Andong said, "There were many move-ins after the wildfire. In rural areas, online move-in registrations are usually only a few per year, but on the very morning the disaster relief payment plan was reported, there were three cases."

Another official said, "Previously, we would just contact the applicants and verify if the application details were correct before processing, but now we even check whether the house was completely destroyed."

Although these are areas where population decline has been a reality, as of the end of last month (compared to the previous month), Andong increased by 340 people and Uiseong by 15 people. This marks a rebound after 5 months in Andong and 17 months in Uiseong, and is analyzed as a 'trick' move-in motivated by expectations of disaster relief funds and various aid payments.

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