Rain-hammered central region to receive financial assistance and tax benefits

중부 호우 피해,...정부, 특별재난 지역 건의 및 재정, 세제 지원As of Wednesday, heavy downpours have left 15 people dead, and 11 people missing in South Korea.More than 15-hundred people have had to evacuate their homes.With most of the damage concentrated in the central region, the government is considering designating the area as a special disaster zone.Lee Kyung-eun has the latest.The past five days of heavy downpours have left enormous damage across the central parts of South Korea.One of the hardest hit areas is Chungcheongbuk-do Province, which has reported 5 deaths and 8 people missing since August 1st,... when torrential rain started pounding the region.Four of them were fire fighters, who went missing while on duty.In Chungcheongnam-do Province, the cities of Cheonan and Asan were slammed by hundreds of millimeters of rain.In Gyeonggi-do Province, near Seoul, another eight people have died, and one person is missing.As more damage is expected in the central region, the Prime Minister has proposed providing these areas with state funding by designating them as special disaster zones."I urge the Ministry of Interior and Safety to swiftly review the proposal of designating Chungcheongbuk-do, Chungcheongnam-do, and Gyeonggi-do provinces as special disaster zones."Once approved, the plan will be carried out by the finance ministry.It will provide immediate government assistance to all affected families while allocating an extra budget from the national treasury for the special disaster zone.A new set of tax measures will be implemented to ease the financial burden on those affected by the flooding and landslides.That includes, delaying the official tax payment date by 9 months ...and allowing a partial tax exemption if more than 20 percent of the person's property has been damaged.Along with the financial policy, the prime minister also called on local governments to strictly abide by virus prevention measures in temporary shelters to prevent any COVID-19 outbreak.More than 15-hundred people across the country are staying in such facilities as of Wednesday.Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.