Hold related officials accountable for disaster

“There were many opportunities, but there was no entity to use them.” The results of the government’s audit of the flood disaster in the underpass in Osong, North Chungcheong can be summarized in that sentence. The provincial government’s management and surveillance on the stream bank was utterly laid-back and their response to alarms from local residents was lethargic even before an imminent tragedy. The North Chungcheong provincial government, the Cheongju city, the National Agency for Administrative City Construction (Naacc), the North Chungcheong provincial police, and the North Chungcheong fire department did not play their role. The disaster which took 14 lives resulted from a colossal disorganization among the five local government organizations.

If at least one of them had done its fair share, it could have prevented or reduced the massive damage. The Naacc, in particular, did not care even if a constructor and an inspection company replaced the existing embankment with a substandard one without authorization. The provincial government didn’t control the traffic around the underpass in advance even amid the flood warning. The Cheongju city didn’t take action even after it had been informed of the flooding.

That’s not all. The local police did not go to the spot after receiving reports from civilians twice at 7:04 a.m. and 7:58 a.m. Instead, they lied that they did. The fire department also neglected to deploy available resources to the underpass. And then, they were busy shifting the responsibility to one another.

The Prime Minister’s Office requested the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office investigate a total of 36 local officials — 34 from those five local agencies and two staffers overseeing the construction of the new embankment. The Prime Minister’s Office said it will instruct related agencies to take punitive actions on 63 officials from the five organizations. On top of that, the prime minister’s office plans to suspend managers responsible for overseeing flood from their posts — including the head of Naacc, the deputy mayor of Cheongju, and the captain of the local police precinct.

But 22 of the 36 officials to be investigated are lower public servants. North Chungcheong Governor Kim Young-hwan and Cheongju mayor Lee Beom-seok were excluded from the investigation as they are “elected officials.” Gov. Kim provoked controversy by saying, “Even if I went there, the situation couldn’t change.” Lower officials are increasingly shunning working at disaster management departments.

Under such circumstances, the government cannot devise effective disaster management measures. It must hold any related officials accountable for dereliction of duty before it is too late.