Prime Minister and Ministers to the Field... Kim Min-seok "I will create a direct complaint window in the Prime Minister's Office"

[Financial News] The government has urgently deployed ministers, including Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, to areas severely affected by unprecedented heavy rains and landslides to expedite recovery efforts.
 According to related ministries on the 20th, Prime Minister Kim visited the area around Sinan Bridge and Hasin Village in Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, to inspect the flood damage sites. With embankment collapses and flooding of roads, houses, and shops following the heavy rain, Prime Minister Kim received a report on the damage status from Moon In, the head of Buk-gu, and personally toured the flooded shops and houses.
 Prime Minister Kim told the residents he met on-site, "The government is mobilizing all means and capabilities to quickly recover from the current crisis and allow the public to return to their daily lives," and emphasized, "If there were any shortcomings in the government's response process, we will reflect painfully and thoroughly check. We will find answers on the ground and prepare tailored measures that fit the local situation."
 He also visited flooded agricultural sites such as the Hasin Village strawberry nursery and said, "Seeing the crops, which are like children nurtured with care for a year's harvest, submerged in water in an instant is heavy on my heart and I feel sorry."
 Prime Minister Kim also announced plans to introduce a 'direct complaint window (tentative name)' in the Prime Minister's Office to directly hear the opinions of disaster victims. He explained, "Although there are complaint windows in local governments, the central government, and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, I believe a 'Prime Minister's phone' method for direct communication by the Prime Minister's Office is necessary," and "We are planning a two-track complaint system where one side follows the existing administrative procedure and the other side directly hears the voices of residents through the Prime Minister's Office."
 Regarding the government's role, he stated, "The priority is emergency evacuation, recovery, and quarantine, which are the basis for survival, and then it should lead to emergency disaster prevention and structural improvement."
 The government has increased the intensity of its response by urgently deploying ministers to the affected areas. Prime Minister Kim particularly dispatched Song Mi-ryeong, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, to Sancheong-eup and Sinan-myeon in Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, which suffered significant damage. On the 21st, the Minister of the Interior and Safety, the main department for disaster management, will visit the site to console the affected residents and instruct the establishment of a detailed recovery plan.
 In Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, an average of 632mm and a maximum of 798mm (Sicheon-myeon) of heavy rain fell from July 16 to 20. As a result, there have been 7 deaths, 3 missing, and 5 injured, along with significant property damage, including approximately 520 hectares of flooded crops.
 Before visiting Sancheong, Minister Song also visited a horticultural farm in Buyeo to inspect the emergency recovery situation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is conducting emergency disinfection and quarantine measures, focusing on flooded areas, to prevent the spread of livestock infectious diseases.
 Minister Song stated, "We will quickly deploy experts in the fruit and vegetable sectors to the site immediately after drainage to provide technical guidance, and swiftly complete damage assessments and investigations to pay disaster insurance and recovery costs as quickly as possible." The government plans to complete damage reports and investigations by the end of July and establish a recovery plan by mid-August to execute national treasury support.
 
spring@fnnews.com Lee Bo-mi Reporter