Ministry to spend more money to build dams, dredge rivers

The Ministry of Environment announced Tuesday it will dredge more bodies of water and build more dams with increased budget outlays for next year.

A county in Dageu is flooded on August 10 after levees near the area broke due to Typhoon Khanun. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Environment announced Tuesday it will dredge more bodies of water and build more dams with increased budget outlays for next year.

The ministry’s total expenditure for next year rose to 14.5 trillion won ($11 billion), up 7.3 percent from this year.

The amount includes 12.6 trillion won for the budget and 1.8 trillion won in extra funds for items such as drainage systems and the climate.

Some 2 trillion won will be used for the management of dams and bodies of water, up 70 percent from this year’s 1.2 trillion won.

The plan follows a summer of deaths and property damage due to heavy rains and a typhoon that struck the country.

Downpours last month killed at least 46 people in Korea, including 14 people who drowned in a flooded underpass in Osong-eup, North Chungcheong.

The underpass was flooded after a temporary levee along a nearby river broke.

The ministry said it will dredge a total of 19 bodies of water next year, a huge increase from this year’s three.

“Projects on dredging rivers, which were neglected by the Moon Jae-in administration, will be expanded,” the ministry said.

Deputy Environment Minister Lim Sang-jun told the JoongAng Ilbo that the Moon government did not properly dredge and manage bodies of water out of the belief that rivers should be left as they are.

The ministry allocated nearly half of its budget for next year, or over six trillion won, to water management, up 21.9 percent from this year.

Sites for damn construction will be selected based on multiple factors, including risk of flooding and local government demands.

The government will also invest in measures to prevent flooding in cities, such as by building rainwater tunnels.

“The Environment Ministry’s budget for next year focuses on securing the safety of people who have repeatedly experienced flood damage,” said Environment Minister Han Wha-jin.

The government also plans to allocate new budget outlays to designate 10 streams as national streams to be managed by the state.

Some 80 billion won will be used to forecast flooding at major rivers and streams through the help of AI technology.

With the expansion of the budget for water management, spending on other activities, including resource cycling and the natural environment, has been downsized.

The budget for the natural environment was reduced by 13.4 percent and for resource cycling by 21.8 percent.

Subsidies for EVs and hydrogen cars will drop 6.5 percent to 2.3 trillion won next year.

The government is expected to offer subsidies for 295,000 EVs and 10,750 hydrogen vehicles next year.

However, more money will be injected into related infrastructures such as charging stations next year, up 44.3 percent.

The budget proposal will be submitted to the National Assembly on Sept. 1 for a final vote.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]