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President Lee Jae-myung walks through the village of Buri in Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang Province, on July 21 to inspect the site of a landslide caused by heavy rains. / Source: Yonhap News

President Lee Jae-myung on August 6 officially designated 36 additional areas — including Asan in South Chungcheong Province and Buk-gu in Gwangju — as special disaster zones in response to severe flood damage caused by mid-July downpours.

According to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, Lee instructed officials to “swiftly establish recovery plans, allocate necessary budgets, and ensure the prompt return to daily life for affected residents.”

The newly designated zones include 16 cities and counties and 20 towns and neighborhoods hit hardest by heavy rains from July 16 to 20. Among them are Asan, Cheonan, Gongju, Dangjin, Buyeo, Cheongyang, and Hongseong in South Chungcheong; Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province; Buk-gu in Gwangju; Naju and Hampyeong in South Jeolla; Cheongdo in North Gyeongsang; and Jinju, Uiryeong, Hadong, and Hamyang in South Gyeongsang.

“This is a follow-up to the earlier designation on July 22 of six flood-stricken regions as special disaster zones,” Kang noted in a written briefing. The initial list included Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province, Seosan and Yesan in South Chungcheong, Damyang in South Jeolla, and Sancheong and Hapcheon in South Gyeongsang.

To ensure no victims were excluded, the government extended the damage reporting deadline through August 5 and applied the designations down to the town and neighborhood level.

Under the special disaster zone designation, affected municipalities will receive additional central government funding for disaster recovery. Residents are also eligible for relief measures, including tax payment deferrals and reductions in public utility fees.