[Anchor]
We previously reported on the controversy surrounding the cause of the apartment accident in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, where torrential rains even led to casualties. With the Korea Forest Service and local authorities reaching a preliminary conclusion that it was not a landslide, the apartment complex might have to shoulder the recovery costs. Residents are reacting with disbelief.
Reporter Kim Minjun has the story.
[Reporter]
In the early hours of the 17th, mud and soil engulfed an apartment complex in Okpo-dong, Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, leaving three people dead or injured and dozens of vehicles damaged.
Some 120 residents are still unable to return to their homes. Regarding the cause of the accident, the Korea Forest Service and local authorities concluded that it should be classified as a "slope failure" on private apartment property rather than a landslide.
While it resembles a landslide in that soil and rocks collapsed down a slope, unlike landslides occurring in natural areas like forests, slope failure refers to incidents in areas that have been artificially altered.
In this case too, although it looks like a mountain at a glance, authorities state it must be regarded as slope failure because a construction company purchased and excavated the land back in 1993.
Apartment residents are dumbfounded by the news that if the disaster is classified as man-made rather than a natural one, the responsibility for recovery falls in principle on the private sector and the apartment residents, not the state or local governments.
[Nearby Resident: That is wrong. That is truly wrong. Anyone looking at this would call it a landslide.]
They expressed intense anger at the prospect that residents might have to pay for recovery and compensation costs if disaster relief funds and donations fall short.
[Nearby Resident: It makes no sense. It makes no sense. Why should the people here bear the responsibility for this?]
In August 2022, a similar accident occurred at an apartment complex in Sadang-dong, Dongjak-gu, Seoul.
Retaining walls within the complex collapsed due to mud washed down by heavy rain, but because it was not classified as a landslide, the responsibility for restoration fell on the residents.
However, after being declared a special disaster zone, the Dongjak-gu Office carried out emergency restoration work, pumping in approximately 3.8 billion won combining national, city, and district funds, sparing the residents from bearing the costs.
As the government declared Geoje and Tongyeong as special disaster zones today (the 21st), the Geoje City Office stated regarding this issue, "Administratively, it is viewed as a slope failure, but we are currently at the stage of reviewing whether to provide restoration support."
(Video Reported by Jung Kyeong-moon | Video Edited by Choi Hye-ran | Design by Lee Jun-ho)
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