Government announces emergency aid of 6.7 billion won for flood damage

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, right, inspects on Thursday a neighborhood in Gwanak District, southern Seoul, that was flooded due to torrential rains that poured Monday. [NEWS1]

Emergency assistance amounting to 6.7 billion won ($5.1 million) will be provided to areas severely damaged by the torrential rains that hit central regions such as Seoul and Gyeonggi, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced Friday.

The amount of aid by region will be 2.8 billion won for Seoul, 2 billion for Gyeonggi, 500 million for Incheon, 400 million for North Chungcheong, 300 million each for Gangwon and North Jeolla and 200 million each for Sejong and South Chungcheong.

The assistance will come in the form of special subsidy tax support and is intended to subsidize the disaster management costs of local governments, such as emergency restoration for damaged facilities, safety measures to prevent the the collapse of remaining buildings and relief for victims of the floods.

“As torrential rains are expected to continue, there is a high risk of additional damage,” said Lee Sang-min, minister of the interior and safety. “Our ministry will do our best to provide administrative and financial support for emergency recovery and relief.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]