The Cabinet approved a bill on Tuesday to earmark 10.8 billion won ($9.7 million) to help residents in the southeastern city of Gumi recover from the disastrous gas leak incident last month.
Some eight tons of hydrofluoric acid, an acute poison that can damage lungs and bones and affect the nervous system, leaked from chemical maker Hube Globe in Gumi, some 260 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on Sept. 27, resulting in the deaths of five workers and injuries to 18 others.
The leaked gas caused massive damage, sickening more than 3,000 additional people and withering hundreds of hectares of farmlands and orchards, according to the authorities. To offer extra financial aid, the government designated the city as a special disaster zone.
Under the approved bill, three relevant government agencies -- the emergency management agency, the forestry administration and the environmental ministry -- will spend a total of 10.8 billion won, which will be used for emergency purposes including aid to local residents and waste disposal.
It is part of the first wave of the government support totaling 29.1 billion won, according to the officials.
In a separate matter, the Cabinet also approved a proposal to set up diplomatic relations with the Cook Islands in the South Pacific Ocean by the end of this year.
The two nations will complete the establishment of diplomatic ties by the end of this year by adopting a joint statement on bilateral relations, making the Cook Islands the 190th country with which Seoul has an official relationship, according to the foreign ministry. (Yonhap)