The People Power Party requested the government on the 27th to designate expanded special disaster areas and to prepay earmarked tax (special) due to the growing scale of damage from wildfires, primarily in the Yeongnam region.
The People Power Party Special Committee on Wildfire Disaster Response held its first meeting at the National Assembly that day and gathered these opinions.
First, they decided to recommend that the government increase the designations of special disaster areas. Chairperson Lee Man-hee of the special committee on wildfire disaster response said, “Seeing the spread of wildfires, it seems that special disaster areas should be dramatically increased to include Andong, Yeongyang, and Cheongsong.” Currently, four areas are designated as special disaster areas: Sangcheong and Hadong in Gyeongnam, Uljin in Ulsan, and Uiseong in Gyeongbuk. Once designated as special disaster areas, they can receive 50-80% of the restoration costs for damages to public facilities and private properties from the national budget. Support for tax relief on national and local government taxes is also possible.
Additionally, they decided to consult with the government on a plan to prepay 500 billion won in earmarked tax (special). The Chairperson stated, “Budget execution takes a lot of time in the process,” and added, “I will ensure that we can prioritize disaster assistance with the earmarked tax (special) that can be executed the fastest on-site.” Earmarked tax (special) is part of the local grant-in-aid (non-earmarked tax) distributed to local governments. It is used for addressing regional issues, national policy projects, and disaster measures.
They also agreed to consider increasing the disaster response reserve in the supplementary budget currently being discussed by the ruling and opposition parties. The Chairperson noted, “A significant reserve is expected to be needed for disaster response. If the supplementary budget is implemented, I will look for a way to dramatically increase the reserve in cooperation with the opposition party.”
In this year's budget proposal, the disaster reserve was reduced by 1 trillion won due to the opposition's insistence, resulting in a total allocation of 1.6 trillion won. The People Power Party believes it is necessary not only to restore the cut of 1 trillion won but also to increase the allocation. The special committee plans to discuss the size of the reserve supplementary budget with the party's policy committee, considering the national fiscal situation.
The special committee plans to recommend to its leadership that each member contribute at least 1 million won for disaster recovery funds. One commissioner stated, “The opinion of the special committee members is that we must share in the pain with the disaster victims. It would be great if we can set an example and provide strength to the people.”
Chairperson Kwon Young-se earlier noted in his opening remarks at the first meeting of the special committee, “With the Chairperson at the center, we will closely monitor the situation on the ground while making the utmost effort to ensure swift support through organic cooperation with the government, local governments, and fire authorities.”