Korea's snow cleanup response criticized for delayed action

A vehicle sprays salt on the roads in Gwangju on Dec. 18 during a heavy snow advisory. [YONHAP]

Sluggish responses to snow-related accidents as the country continues to get hit with winter weather are being criticized despite local governments dispatching emergency response teams.

A slippery road due to the snow was pointed out as one of the factors in the death of a 12-year-old, who was killed after being hit by a bus at a crosswalk in Segok-dong of Gangnam District, southern Seoul, last Saturday.

“The roads were frozen and snow hadn’t been removed on the day of the accident,” a resident recalled.

Residents of Segok-dong posted online, saying that “people have been asking for snow removal and for heating cables to be installed on the roads, but these have all been ignored.”

The Gangnam District Office said that “snow removal is taking place according to the manual” and “a total of nine snow plows were dispatched on the day of the accident including to the area where the accident took place.”

Local governments across the country are preparing to respond to the heavy snow as they are required to do, as per the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety.

Gangnam District assigned 13 teams to respond to emergency situations from last month. But complaints over sluggish emergency weather responses are still being made in regions such as Cheongju, North Chungcheong, and Jeonju, North Jeolla.

Accidents and bad traffic due to winter weather take place in the country every year. These problems are mainly seen in December and January due to frozen roads, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

From 2016 to 2020, a total of 4,868 car accidents due to ice and snow were reported, killing 8,938 people.

Regions in South Jeolla have been under heavy snow advisories since Dec. 17, and accidents have been reported.

“I am afraid there might be an accident since the snow is not being removed,” a post read on an online community. “Our town is an ice rink.”

A spokesperson from a local government responded to the complaints, saying, “All employees have been involved in snow removal over the weekend, but it is not enough and it is difficult to satisfy everyone.”

Experts are asking local governments to come up with consistent response measures to the continuing snowfall.

“As uncertainties related to heavy rain and snow are increasing due to climate change, local governments should prepare for any natural disasters and respond to them in a consistent matter regardless of public servants' shifts,” said Song Chang-young, a professor at Gwangju University.

Korea often waits for reports and complaints from the people before responding.

According to a study conducted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety during 2014-2017, reports from people was the biggest reason that local authorities went out to spray antifreeze.

“Local governments are individually responding to snow removal, but there is not enough information related to this as some areas need extreme snow removal,” said Kim Geun-young, a professor at Kangnam University’s urban planning department, who was in charge of the Safety Ministry’s study.

“Like the United States, where they share all the information of the regions and routes for snowplowing to the citizens, the snow removing processes should be systemized in accordance to different regions.”

BY CHAE HAE-SEON [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]