Yoon vows to redirect corrupted funds to flood recovery

Jul 19, 2023, 08:03 am

		0
President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at his office on July 18, 2023./ Source: Preidential Office

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol stressed Tuesday that state subsidies going to corrupt cartels with vested interests must be abolished completely, and that money must be spent on flood recovery and damage repair.

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting, Yoon said that taxpayers’ money should be actively injected into support and consolidation for those suffered from the disaster.

“The government should mobilize all available resources to speed up rescue operations, recovery work and support for victims of the heavy rain,” Yoon said. “The government will designate the affected regions as special disaster zones as soon as possible and muster up all available resources such as state budget funds and aid workers.”

The president also stressed that related authorities should be more alert to respond to heavy rain damage. “We need to fundamentally change the disaster management system response systems,” he said. “In the face of the unprecedented extreme weather events, we cannot, and should not, deal with them in the way we have done so far.”

He called for the establishment of a digital monitoring system that operates systematically and enhanced cooperation among the central and local governments as well as experts.

“All related ministries and local governments should be alert until the rainy season is completely over,” Yoon said. “Please keep in mind that public safety is our top priority.”

#flood recovery #cartel