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| Comedian Yoo Jae-suk and actor Park Seo-joon have donated money to kelp flood victims. Korea Times file |
By Lee Gyu-lee
Celebrities, including comedian Yoo Jae-suk and actor Park Seo-joon, are mobilizing to provide disaster assistance, after heavy rain caused significant casualties and damage across Korea.
The torrential rain, which started over the weekend, has triggered landslides in several places and flooded residential areas, mostly in the Seoul metropolitan area and the central region. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters reported 13 people dead, 13 missing and about 2,228 evacuees, as of Tuesday afternoon.
To help those affected by the rain and floods, comedian Yoo donated 100 million won ($83,700) Monday to an emergency relief fund for flood victims. The Korea Disaster Relief Association manages the fund.
According to the association, Yoo has previously stepped forward to help in disaster situations, including the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, the 2017 Pohang earthquake, and the 2019 Gangwon Province forest fire.
"Yoo has been making generous donations every time we start a disaster relief campaign," the association said. "Because many people are suffering from unexpected heavy rain nationwide, we hope Yoo's donation will start the spread of good deeds."
Following Yoo, several other celebrities also contributed hefty sums to the same relief fund.
Actor Park Seo-joon and actress Yoo In-na donated 100 million won ($83,700), and 50 million won ($41,900) each.
Comedian Yoo Byung-jae and comedian/TV personality couple Hong Hyun-hee and Yun Jae-sung shared their contributions ― 10 million won ($8,400) and 20 million won ($16,700) ― on social media, encouraging fans to join them.
"I hope this will help victims across the country who are affected by the sudden rainfall," Hong wrote.
Meanwhile, property damage has increased to over 1,480 private assets and 1,470 public facilities as of Tuesday.
