South Gyeongsang council pushes for special disaster zone designation in Geoje, Tongyeong

The South Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly is pressing the central government to declare Geoje and Tongyeong special disaster zones after record-breaking torrential rains caused severe damage across both cities.

Assembly member Kim Kyung-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gimhae District 6) on Wednesday introduced a resolution urging the government to designate the two cities as special disaster zones and provide swift recovery support. All Democratic Party members of the provincial assembly joined as co-sponsors.

The resolution cited rainfall totaling more than 900 millimeters in Geoje and over 700 millimeters in Tongyeong from Aug. 15 through Aug. 17, triggering landslides and urban flooding on a scale that exceeded the fiscal capacity of local governments. It called on the central government to immediately declare both areas special disaster zones under the Framework Act on Disaster and Safety Management, and also urged the government to raise disaster relief payments to realistic levels, extend financial and tax support, and allocate national budget funds for slope stabilization and urban drainage infrastructure upgrades.

The assembly's Construction and Fire Safety Committee visited the landslide site at an apartment complex in Okpo-dong, Geoje — where a fatality was reported — to review rescue and recovery operations by fire department authorities and assess the risk of further collapse. The committee then traveled to the Deokpo-dong damage site in the afternoon to support ongoing recovery work.

The committee called on South Gyeongsang Province and Geoje City to establish a one-stop administrative support system, urging them to complete preliminary damage assessments as quickly as possible to meet the requirements for special disaster zone designation and to ensure that relief for displaced residents and disaster support payments are delivered without delay.

Committee Chair Jeong Ssang-hak said, "Recovery is only complete when residents can safely return home," adding that the committee would continue monitoring the progress of damage assessments, recovery cost calculations, and safety inspections of housing and slopes throughout the September legislative session.

Assembly Speaker Park Jun, People Power Party floor leader Choi Young-ho and other assembly leadership visited the Okpo-dong landslide site, a temporary evacuation facility at Okpo Elementary School, and road damage sites in Bongpyeong-dong and Misu-dong in Tongyeong on Tuesday, delivering relief supplies and calling for prompt administrative support.

The Democratic Party floor leadership visited flood-hit sites in Irun-myeon's Hoejin village on Tuesday and continued touring disaster areas on Wednesday, taking part directly in recovery work including debris removal and clearing of flood-damaged household belongings.

According to the South Gyeongsang Province Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the storms left one person dead and three injured across the province. Of 58 housing units damaged, 56 were in Geoje, where 217 people from 125 households remain unable to return home and are staying at temporary evacuation shelters.