Paju City to Provide Flat Bottled Water Compensation of 21,000 Won to 170,000 Households Affected by Water Outage Without Requiring Receipts

Paju City Finalizes Lump-Sum Compensation for Bottled Water Purchases to 170,000 Households Affected by Water Outage
"Bulk Payment to All Affected Households Without Requiring Receipts"
K-water Accepts Compensation Council's Demands in Full
21,630 Won Per Household, Total Compensation to Reach 3.6 Billion Won

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced on April 16 that it had finalized a plan to pay compensation for bottled water purchases to households affected by the wide-area water supply outage that occurred in November last year in Unjeong, Geumchon, and Jori areas of Paju. The compensation, which is part of the broader damage compensation plan, will be provided without requiring receipts from the affected households.

Panoramic view of Paju City Hall. Provided by Paju City

According to the city, Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water), which was responsible for the outage, has decided to provide bottled water purchase compensation to all households in the affected regions. Notably, K-water has withdrawn its original proposal that required submission of receipts as proof of purchase, and has instead accepted the demands of the "Wide-Area Water Outage Damage Compensation Council" to implement universal compensation to all households.

'Reducing the inconvenience of providing proof'—Bulk payment to 170,000 households

Korea Water Resources Corporation stated that it made this decision after listening to the severe inconveniences experienced by Paju residents during the fourth meeting of the Damage Compensation Council for the Wide-Area Water Outage held in March. The corporation explained that this move was intended to fulfill its responsibilities as a public institution.

According to the main compensation plan, 170,000 affected households will each receive 7,210 won per day for three days, totaling 21,630 won per household for bottled water purchases. The total compensation amount is estimated to reach approximately 3,677,100,000 won.

The key aspect of this decision is the significant simplification of the compensation process. K-water has changed its previous policy, which required individual households to submit receipts as proof of bottled water purchases to receive compensation. Now, compensation will be paid to all affected households without the need for supporting documentation. This reflects the council's demand to minimize inconvenience for citizens.

Civil society: "Late, but welcome... A responsible response"

Members of the compensation council expressed support for this decision. One member said, "It is fortunate that, even now, there is an understanding of the pain suffered by Paju residents and that the public institution is acting responsibly." Another member commented, "Although the amount may seem small compared to the actual damage experienced by citizens, we applaud the proactive attitude shown by the public institution."

Another council member stressed that, in addition to bottled water purchase compensation, the significant losses and hardships suffered by small business owners must not be overlooked. The member called on Korea Water Resources Corporation to proactively review and compensate for the damages endured by small business owners.

Paju City to establish concrete payment plans through fifth council meeting

Paju City plans to convene the fifth meeting of the compensation council as soon as possible, following K-water's decision. During this meeting, the city will officially deliver the compensation payment decision to the council members and discuss specific administrative procedures to ensure the compensation is actually distributed to citizens.

A Paju City official stated, "We will review the most convenient and prompt payment method possible so that citizens do not experience further inconvenience during the compensation process."

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