REPUBLIC OF KOREA
I.

Natural hazards in Republic of Korea

1.1 Natural hazards likely to affect the country
Wind storm, typhoon, flood, drought, heavy snow, extreme temperature,slide, wild fire, storm surge, yellow dust, etc. (not in severity order)
1.2 Recent major disasters
Description of recent major disasters and response activities
A. Heavy Snow from March 4 to March 6, 2005
Eastern part of the Korean peninsula was damaged with agriculture
and fishery facilities causing $21.5 million property damage.
B. Torrential Rains from August 2nd to 3rd and from August 8 to 11,
2005
Localized hourly precipitation was recorded from 15 to 71 mm in thecentral and western part of Korea. 15 people were dead and $456.8
million property damage was occurred. Most of the people diedbecause of slope-stability related disasters such as landslide. Affected
people were 7,340 in 2,815 households.
C. 14th Typhoon “Nabi” from Sept. 6 to 8, 2005
The accumulative precipitation was recorded as 622.5 mm causing 6
dead and $115.4 million property damage.
Activities for recovery and reconstruction after major disasters
A. Heavy Snow from March 4 to March 6, 2005
National parks in the area were temporary blocked and entrance of
highway was discouraged. Subway operation was extended for 30minutes. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures
Headquarters decided the recovery costs and local governments andrelated agencies are doing recovery work after receiving the budget.
B. Torrential Rains from August 2nd to 3rd and from August 8 to 11,2005
Mass media such as the Korean Broadcasting Service actively
participated for the disaster information dissemination. Automaticverbal notification system was activated. Recovery work is being doneby the process same as above.
Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report

1C. 14th Typhoon “Nabi” from Sept. 6 to 8, 2005
People in the typhoon path were evacuated, especially in the coastal
area. Recovery work is being done by the process same as above.

II.

Disaster Management system

2.1 Administrative system

Conventional long form:
Conventional short form:
Government type:
Capital:Administrative divisions:

Republic of Korea
South Korea
republicSeoul
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7
metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular andplural)

2.2 Legal system, legal framework
Laws related with natural disasters include the Natural Disaster
Countermeasures Act, Act on Countermeasures against Agricultural andFishery Disasters, Disaster Relief Act, etc. The Natural Disaster
Countermeasures Act (enacted in 1995) prescribes control of andcountermeasures against natural disasters such as torrential rain andtyphoons, investigations of relevant damage, rehabilitation costs, etc.
The Act on Countermeasures against Agricultural and Fishery Disasters(also enacted in 1995) stipulates measures concerning prevention of andcountermeasures against disasters affecting agriculture and fishery suchas damage from disease, harmful pests and drought. The Disaster Relief
Act (enacted in 1962) provides for relief of victims of natural disasters orcalamities, etc.
From June 1, 2004 the Disaster and Safety Management Basic Law isenacted designating disaster management competent organizations
based on the disaster definition, identifying the Central Safety
Management Committee, establishing rapid information dissemination
system, and enhancing disaster-related research functions.
Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report22.3 Structure of disaster management
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) under theMinistry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA)
manages overall measures to counter natural disasters in Korea. Theagency is composed of four Bureaus, i.e., Planning and Management
Bureau, Mitigation and Planning Bureau, Response and Management
Bureau, and Recovery and Support Bureau. In addition to the PublicInformation Officer, Disaster Status Control Unit, and General Services
Division, Innovation and Personnel Officer, Planning and Budget Officer,
and Information and Communication Officer are working under Planningand Management Officer. Mitigation and Planning Bureau has Planning
Coordination Division, Civil Defense Planning Division, Fire
Administration Policy Division, Technological Disaster Management
Division, and Public Cooperation Division.
Response and Management Bureau includes Response Planning Division,
Fire Suppression Division, Rescue and Emergency Division, andFacilities and Equipment Division. Recovery and Support Bureau has
Preparedness Division, Rehabilitation Division, Technical Support
Division, and Assessment Division.
On September 1, 2005 NEMA restructured its previous organization, i.e.,
three Bureaus, one Office, and 19 Divisions to have four Headquarters,
one Center, two Offices, and twenty two Teams to cope with rapidlychanging disaster environment and to execute necessary measuresagainst emerging disasters more effectively.
NEMA takes responsibility for practical affairs for regular period. Whena disaster strikes, an ad hoc organization called CDSCH forms. The
Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) isin charge of prevention and status control of natural disasters, as well as
recovery planning, and executes necessary measures related to suchdisasters. The Minister of the MOGAHA heads the CDSCH while
Director of NEMA serves as its vice-chief. Twenty-three personnel from21 government organizations serve on its council. Also, the Central
Safety Management Committee serves the function of providing
coordination and support for the CDSCH, and the Central Emergency
Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report

3Rescue Control Squad supports CDSCH when a massive search andrescue service is required.
Water resources and land use planning are managed by the Ministry ofConstruction and Transportation. Health, environment, education, andfinance are managed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry ofEnvironment, Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development,and Ministry of Finance and Economy, respectively.
2.4 Priorities on disaster risk management
1) It is required to strengthening close cooperation in the region. It is
desirable to have several practical cooperation programs and trainingthat can yield ready-to-use outputs. Programs provided by ADPC,ADRC and other international or regional organizations need to be
more actively developed and publicized.
2) Even when the government prepares perfect policies or organizations
to reduce disaster losses, the government cannot do it alone without
active participation of citizens. More public education andparticipation are desired. Programs to increase public awarenessshould be discussed as one of the top priorities in the WCDR.
3) Sustainable development can be defined as development that does notincrease disaster potential or vulnerability. However, it is almost
impossible to develop any area without disturbance. To reduce
disaster factors due to development, regulations that safeguard not
only developing site but also downstream should be discussed during
the WCDR. The Disaster Impact Assessment system, which iscurrently put in force in Korea and actually reduce disaster factors,
can be a good example for implementing sustainable development.
4) Budget for disaster reduction project is sometimes considered as asimple cost, not an investment. Methodology or strategy that canchange the concept and increase disaster reduction budget needs to beaddressed.

Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report

4III.

Disaster management plan

To cope with disasters which are taking more diverse forms and larger inscale and to define basic guidelines for the national disaster prevention
policy, the government has formulated the sixth Basic Disaster
Prevention Plan Period (2002-2006) in which "Establishment of Disaster
Resistant Country" is employed as the policy concept.
From February to April each year, disaster prevention training andeducation programs are provided to working-level government employees
in charge of disaster prevention in each province, city, county and district.
With the period from the beginning of March to the end of May
designated as the period of preparedness against possible disasters,
disaster prevention facilities are inspected and repaired at the level ofeach administrative unit including province, city, county and district in aprecautionary measure against disasters. During the period from March
to May every year, disaster prevention training including mapping andcomputerized exercises along with training based on regional
characteristics is carried out concurrently with civil defense drills on thebasis of a simulated massive natural disaster comparable to those which
actually occurred in the past.

IV.

Budget size on national level

Annual regular budget for NEMA is about $300 million. Also, several
national level projects are funded. For instance, in 2003, for mountainand river control projects such as dam development, small river creeks
improvement, about $2 billion was invested in 8 projects. 13 Projects
were developed in disaster prevention and countermeasures and $1billion was spent. For research and development in disaster risk
mitigation area $50 million was invested in 6 projects such as
establishment for the National Disaster Management System, operationof Earthquake Research Center, and modernization of meteorologicalobservation.

Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report

5V.

Progress and situations of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)

To promote the HFA in the region the Asian Conference on DisasterReduction (ACDR) is hosted by the Korean Government with the full
support and guide by ADRC from March 15 to 16, 2006.

VI.

Projects on disaster reduction headed by your Ministry

A. Introduction of the Steep Slope Safety Management and Disaster
Reduction Act(1) Topic: To reduce slope-related disasters such as landslide in urban
area(2) Actor: NEMA and NIDP
(3) Partner: Korea Forest Service and Ministry of Construction andTransportation(4) Title: the Steep Slope Safety Management and Disaster Reduction Act(5) Contents: Definition of “the steep slope”, monitoring of the slope,countermeasures, responsibility of local governments, short- andlong-term plans, data compilation, etc.
(6) Means: Legislation and budget support(7) Target Year: 2006
(8) Target Area: At least 17,907 sites prone to ground disasters in localgovernments(9) Expectation: Minimization of landslide damages in urban area(10) Progress: Draft bill is prepared and researches by stakeholders are in
progress from 2005(11) Link: Highways, local loads, slopes, retaining structures, mountainareas, etc.
(12) Others: N/A
B. Introduction of Disaster Management Capacity Assessment(1) Topic: To assess local governments’ management capacity andencourage improvement of disaster management system(2) Actor: NEMA
(3) Partner: Local governments(4) Title: Assessment of local governments’ disaster management capacity

Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report6(5) Contents: Local governments’ organization, policies, funds, publicrelations, various countermeasures, emergency recoveries, relief, etc.
(6) Means: Legislation and budget support(7) Target Year: from 2005
(8) Target Area: Local governments nationwide(9) Expectation: Promote and introduction of improved management
system in local governments(10) Progress: Provincial Government evaluated 234 local governments.
NEMA evaluated 16 Provincial and Metropolitan Governments and64 local governments in 2005(11) Link: Other central government’s evaluation programs(12) Others: N/AVII.

ADRC Counterpart
Headquarters of Recovery and Support
National Emergency Management Agency
Central Government Complex
55 Sejong-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul 110760, Korea
National Institute for Disaster Prevention
National Emergency Management Agency
253-42, 7th Floor, Gongdeok-Dong, Mapo-Ku, Seoul, 121-719,
KOREA

Sources: Dr. Dugkeun Park (NIDP, NEMA), ADRC country report

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