Lee Designates Yeonggwang’s Baeksu as Special Disaster Zone After Heavy Rain

President Lee Jae Myung has designated Baeksu, a town in the southwestern county of Yeonggwang, as a special disaster zone after torrential rain damaged the area, the presidential office said Friday.

The designation, made late Thursday, makes the affected community eligible for government support as it recovers from heavy rainfall that struck between late August and early September. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the available measures include financial assistance for post-disaster rebuilding, delayed tax payments and discounts on utility charges.

The decision shifts the response from immediate emergency management toward longer-term recovery. For residents and local authorities, special disaster zone status provides a formal basis for central government aid with restoration costs and for relief intended to reduce household financial pressure after the flooding.

The government plans to finalize reconstruction plans promptly, Kang said, with the aim of helping residents return to normal life as soon as possible. No detailed cost estimate or timetable for the rebuilding program was announced in the initial statement.

Baeksu is located in Yeonggwang County in South Korea’s southwest. The area was among the communities hit by intense rain around the turn of the month. The presidential designation applies specifically to the town, focusing support on the locality identified as requiring additional help after an assessment of the damage.

Special disaster zone assistance can combine direct recovery funding with temporary relief from routine public charges. In this case, the presidential office specifically identified reconstruction support, tax-payment deferrals and discounted utility fees as benefits enabled by the designation. The measures are intended to address both damaged infrastructure and the immediate financial strain on people living in the affected area.

The announcement did not specify how many homes, businesses or public facilities were damaged, nor did it provide a figure for the number of residents affected. It also did not disclose the total amount of central government support that will be allocated. Those details are expected to depend on the rebuilding plans now being prepared.

The designation gives officials a framework to coordinate recovery while allowing eligible residents to receive relief tied to the disaster status. The next phase will center on completing those plans and delivering assistance to the affected community.