President orders special disaster zone designations for 10 wildfire-hit areas

A helicopter dumps water on a burning forest in Hampyeong, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered government officials to designate 10 areas most affected by recent wildfires as special disaster zones, according to presidential spokesman Lee Do-woon, Wednesday.

Special disaster zones are eligible for financial support from the government for disaster recovery work, while local residents are given tax benefits.

The 10 areas are Hongseong, Geumsan, Dangjin, Boryeong and Buyeo in South Chungcheong Province; Daejeon's Seo District; Okcheon in North Chungcheong Province; Suncheon and Hampyeong in South Jeolla Province; and Yeongju in North Gyeongsang Province.

During a Cabinet meeting held the previous day, President Yoon said, “Dozens of wildfires have broken out across the country, destroying our precious forests and threatening the lives of local residents.”

At the meeting, he ordered the relevant ministers to draw up supportive measures to minimize inconvenience to those evacuated due to wildfires.

Largely due to recent dry weather conditions, a total of 53 wildfires broke out across the country over three days starting Sunday, burning 3,091 hectares of forest, or roughly 4,400 football fields, according to the Korea Forest Service.

No casualties were reported, but some 1,400 local residents had to be evacuated.

All fires had been put out at about 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday, with any remaining embers expected to be extinguished by nationwide rain on Wednesday.