Administrator Lee Mi-seon of the Korea meteorological Administration on the 17th, regarding the drought situation in Gangneung, Gangwon, said, "It is true the forecast was wrong," adding, "The Korea meteorological Administration was insufficient in responding to the drought." Earlier, Gangneung implemented restricted water supply in some areas due to an extreme drought, and the government declared a disaster situation on Aug. 30.
Administrator Lee said this at the National Assembly's Committee on Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor audit when Park Jeong of the Democratic Party of Korea asked, "The Korea meteorological Administration issued an incorrect precipitation outlook, so the severe drought was not predicted," and posed the question.
Administrator Lee said, "The forecasts for April, May, and June in Gangneung were all wrong," adding, "The nationwide precipitation outlook for the three-month forecast was largely accurate, but Gangneung was wrong."
He added, "The Korea meteorological Administration assesses current droughts based on cumulative precipitation over six months," and said, "The Gangneung drought was a flash drought that occurred in a short period of time."
Administrator Lee also answered "We did not notify them," to a question from Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the Democratic Party of Korea asking, "Was there any notification to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety about the occurrence of a flash drought in Gangneung?" and said, "There were parts where we failed to sufficiently provide the causes and details of the flash drought."
Administrator Lee said, "We plan to conduct a pilot operation next year, and improve the system to be nationally effective through performance comparisons," adding, "We also intend to create an index based on three-month precipitation."