Yoon to designate typhoon-hit Pohang as special disaster zone

President Yoon Suk-yeol answers reporters' questions at the Yongsan presidential office Wednesday. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday he will designate the southeastern city of Pohang hit by Typhoon Hinnamnor as a special disaster zone as early as possible.

Speaking to reporters upon arriving to work, Yoon said he will complete all procedures necessary for the designation as soon as possible and provide emergency funds to people in Pohang, North Gyeongsang.

If designated, Pohang will be eligible for the government's financial support in recovery work, relief funds for victims and other benefits.

Yoon also said he will travel to Pohang later in the day to take a firsthand look at the damage.

Nine people have been pulled from a flooded parking garage in Pohang, two of them alive and the seven others in cardiac arrest, as the search continued for any remaining victims in the wake of the typhoon.

All of them had been trapped in the underground parking lot at an apartment complex in Pohang after going there to move their cars amid heavy downpours brought on by the typhoon.

Yoon said he spent a "sleepless night" as he watched the news of people trapped in the parking lot in Pohang.

Yonhap