The government is expected to be unable to use 'contingency funds' for support related to the Jeju Air disaster. This is because evidence is emerging that the disaster is classified as an 'accident' rather than a 'disaster', preventing the use of contingency funds for recovery. The relevant budget is likely to be included in the supplementary budget.
According to the government on the 22nd, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance recently decided not to cover the financial support for the Jeju Air passenger aircraft disaster with contingency funds.
Contingency funds refer to amounts set aside in advance to cover unforeseen expenditures within a certain limit. Of these, the size of the 'designated contingency funds' that can be utilized for disasters is approximately 400 billion won this year.
Since the disaster occurred on Dec. 29 last year, the government has been establishing the Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) and developing a recovery plan for the accident. Simultaneously, they have been discussing the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's task force and the national treasury support budget.
However, as this disaster is deemed an 'accident' rather than a 'disaster', it no longer meets the criteria for utilizing contingency funds according to budgetary principles, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. A ministry official noted, "Replacements for aviation facilities, such as localizers, do not fall under 'disaster recovery', thus do not fit the purpose of designated contingency funds."
Besides contingency funds, there is additionally 360 billion won in disaster response funds available this year from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. However, since the department responsible for the incident is the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and not the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the budget that can be drawn from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's disaster response funds is limited.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to use the disaster response funds only for container management costs for bereaved families set up at Muan International Airport and for expenses related to personnel from fire and police forces. Ultimately, funding for disaster relief and death assistance payments, tax deferrals, disaster recovery expenditures, and improvements to localizers installed at each airport must be arranged separately by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official stated, "There is no budget allocated for 'contingency funds' within the ministry to prepare for unforeseen disasters or accidents," adding, "After determining the recovery costs, we may need to reflect this in next year's budget or arrange a supplementary budget."
Nevertheless, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which has been cautious about a supplementary budget, is still showing a careful stance regarding its possibility. A ministry official remarked, "We will first look into alternative funding sources aside from the supplementary budget."
The CDSCHQ is expected to establish and announce a recovery plan for the Jeju Air passenger aircraft disaster in early next month. The plan is anticipated to include the estimated scale of recovery costs.