FLOOD VICTIMS STILL SUFFER FROM LOSSES

[Anchor Lead]

A huge flood that swept away cattle onto roofs and submerged southern parts of Korea in the summer is still fresh in the minds of local residents. Three months later, they are still suffering because the cause of the flood still hasn't been investigated and the timing and amount of compensation hasn't been decided.

[Pkg]

[Soundbite] "I can't talk about the cattle dying. I'm just thankful that we're still alive."

[Soundbite] "Our village was totally destroyed by the flood."

It's been three months since the homes and businesses of 1,200 households were destroyed. Residents with ruined homes were each paid up to 16 million won in subsidies. But that is not near enough to rebuild a house.

[Soundbite] "KIM IL-SUN(YANGJEONG RESIDENT) : "If we could, we would have built a house somewhere else, but a house cannot be built with 10 or 20 million won."

It was recently found that sub-par materials were used in temporary housing.

[Soundbite] KIM IL-SUN(YANGJEONG RESIDENT) : "They built 50 buildings in a hurry, so the Gurye county government probably didn't care whether good materials were used or not."

Residents are left homeless and with no other options. Temporary shelters were provided at the nearby Buddhist temple and at schools, but those have also ended.

[Soundbite] AHN CHI-BU(GURYE-GUN RESIDENT) : "We were practically forced out because the county's contract with the ecological park was over."

The Gurye-gun county government had received 300 billion won for post-flood restoration. But the budget was limited to the restoration of public facilities, so the money was useless to the residents' private properties.

[Soundbite] KIM IL-SUN(YANGJEONG RESIDENT) : "The money was not for us, but for builders. It had nothing to do with our lives."

Poor damage assessment and slow investigation into the cause of the flood is adding to the residents' woes.

[Soundbite] AHN CHI-BU(GURYE-GUN RESIDENT) : "What kind of people assess the degree of damage with aerial photos? They should have inspected the whole place in person."

[Soundbite] KIM BONG-YONG(GURYE-GUN RESIDENT) : "It's been more than 100 days since the terrible Seomjingang River flood, but an investigation into the cause of the flood has not even started."

The emergency countermeasure committee of local residents is planning protests in front of Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly.

[Soundbite] KIM BONG-YONG(GURYE-GUN RESIDENT) : "No investigation has been done and no one has been held accountable. I can't help but ask if this is a normal society."